Guidance and control of an autonomous planetary rover

An algorithm for piloting an autonomous planetary rover along a planned trajectory, while at the same time performing realtime obstacle avoidance is presented. Path-tracking is accomplished using feedback control of the position and orientation errors, measured with respect to the planned path trajectory. Obstacle avoidance is accomplished using the concept of an artificial potential field, with which data from a scanning range sensor can be transformed into what is, in effect, an obstacle avoidance systems Results from computer simulation illustrate the path-tracking and obstacle avoidance capabilities of the steering control system.