First experiment in sun-synchronous exploration

• Main Authors: David Wettergreen, Bernardine Dias, Benjamin Shamah, James Teza, Paul Tompkins, Chris Urmson, Michael Wagner, William Whittaker
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Arctic; Hyperion
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.136.8178; http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/sunsync/publications/02icra.sunsync.draft.pdf

Sun-synchronous exploration is accomplished by reasoning about sunlight: where the Sun is in the sky, where and when shadows will fall, and how much power can be obtained through various courses of action. In July 2001 a solar-powered rover, named Hyperion, completed two sunsynchronous exploration experiments in the Canadian high arctic (75°N latitude). Using knowledge of orbital mechanics, local terrain, and expected power consumption, Hyperion planned a sun-synchronous route to visit selected waypoints while obtaining the necessary solar power for continuous 24-hour operation. Hyperion executing its plan and returned to its starting location with batteries fully charged after traveling more than 6 kilometers in barren, Mars-analog terrain. In this paper we will describe the concept of sun-synchronous exploration. We overview the design of the Hyperion rover and the software system that enables it to operate sun-synchronously. We then discuss initial results from analysis of our first experiment in sun-synchronous exploration and conclude with observations. 1