Sensing and perception challenges of planetary surface robotics

This expository paper describes sensing and perception issues facing the space robotics community concerned with deploying autonomous rovers on other planetary surfaces. Challenging sensing problems associated with rover surface navigation and manipulation functions are discussed for which practical solutions from sensor developers would vastly improve rover capabilities. Some practical concerns that impact sensor selection based on mass, power, and operability constraints are also discussed. The intent is to present challenges to facilitate alignment of new sensing solutions with key sensing requirements of planetary surface robotics.