Planetary Surface Rover Simulation Environment

Abstract

This paper describes the ongoing development of the physics-based simulator for planetary surface exploration rover vehicles. includes models for various subsystems and components of the robotic vehicle including its mechanical subsystem, an electrical subsystem, internal and external sensors, on-board resources, on-board control software, the terrain environment and the terrain/vehicle interactions. The simulator can be used for standalone simulation, closed-loop simulations with on-board software or for operator-in-the-loop simulations.