Rover Science Autonomy: Probabilistic Planning for Science-Aware Exploration

Future Mars rovers will have the ability to autonomously navigate for distances of kilometers. In one sol a traverse may take a rover into unexplored areas beyond its local horizon. The rover can explore these areas more effectively if it is able to detect and react to science opportunities on its own, what we call science autonomy. We are studying science autonomy in two ways: first, by implementing a simple science autonomy system on a rover in the field, and second, by developing probabilistic planning technology that can enable more principled autonomous decision-making in future systems.

Authors

• Trey Smith Reid Simmons

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