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Rocker-bogie
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<h2 id="design">Design</h2> <p>The rocker-bogie design is <a href="/facts/Spring_(device)/jknGXzTq">unsprung</a> and uses split rather than full-width <a href="/facts/Axle/Eo5jWI3f">axles</a>, allowing the rover to climb over obstacles (such as rocks) that are up to twice the wheel's diameter in size while keeping all six wheels on the ground.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> As with any suspension system, the tilt stability is limited by the height of the center of gravity. Systems using springs tend to tip more easily as the loaded side yields. Based on the center of mass, the <i><a href="/facts/Curiosity_(rover)/mVLawAfA">Curiosity</a></i> rover of the <a href="/facts/Mars_Science_Laboratory/yEARUMpM">Mars Science Laboratory</a> mission can withstand a tilt of at least 45 degrees in any direction without overturning, but automatic sensors limit the rover from exceeding 30 degree tilts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The system is designed to be used at slow speed of around 10 centimetres per second (3.9 in/s) so as to minimize dynamic shocks and consequential damage to the vehicle when surmounting sizable obstacles. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory/zPXnxRBf">Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> states that this rocker bogie system reduces the motion of the main MER vehicle body by half compared to other suspension systems. Each of the <i>Curiosity</i> rover's six wheels has an independent <a href="/facts/Electric_motor/ArD7BGDa">motor</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The two front and two rear wheels have individual steering motors which allow the vehicle to turn in place. Each wheel also has <a href="/facts/Grouser/LFqcaep7">grousers</a>, providing grip for climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> The maximum speed of the robots operated in this way is limited to eliminate as many dynamic effects as possible so that the motors can be geared down, thus enabling each wheel to individually lift a large portion of the entire vehicle's mass. </p><p>In order to go over a vertical obstacle face, the front wheels are forced against the obstacle by the center and rear wheels. The rotation of the front wheel then lifts the front of the vehicle up and over the obstacle. The middle wheel is then pressed against the obstacle by the rear wheels and pulled against the obstacle by the front until it is lifted up and over. Finally, the rear wheel is pulled over the obstacle by the front two wheels. During each wheel's traversal of the obstacle, forward progress of the vehicle is slowed or completely halted. This is not an issue for the operational speeds at which these vehicles have been operated to date. </p><p>One of the future applications of rovers will be to assist <a href="/facts/Astronaut/HB1bd6Lz">astronauts</a> during surface operations. To be a useful assistant, the rover will need to be able to move at least as fast as human walking speed. Other missions which have been proposed, such as the Sun-Synchronous Lunar Polar Rover, require even greater speeds (4–10 km/h). </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/IBOT/mvCLQ3Vn">iBOT</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Whippletree_(mechanism)/oKceuQKu">Whippletree (mechanism)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>US 4840394, Donald B. Bickler, "Articulated suspension system", published 1988-04-21, issued 1989-06-20, assigned to NASA <a href="https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US4840394" target="_blank">https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US4840394</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>NASA Patent Abstracts Bibliography, Section 1. Abstracts (PDF). ARTICULATED SUSPENSION SYSTEM (Report). June 1990. p. 19. <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19900016382_1990016382.pdf" target="_blank">https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19900016382_1990016382.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Bickler, Donald (April 1998). "Roving over Mars". Mechanical Engineering. pp. 74–77. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081022180558/http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/april98/features/mars/mars.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081022180558/http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/april98/features/mars/mars.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Miller, David P.; Lee, Tze-Liang (March 17–21, 2002). "High-speed traversal of rough terrain using a rocker-bogie mobility system" (PDF). Proceedings of Space 2002: The Eighth International Conference and exposition on engineering, construction, operations, and business in space, and proceedings of Robotics 2002: the Fifth International conference and exposition/demonstration on robotics for challenging situations and environments. Space 2002 and Robotics 2002. Albuquerque, NM. ISBN 0-7844-0625-1. <a href="0-7844-0625-1" target="_blank">0-7844-0625-1</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Rover Wheels". Mars Exploration Rovers: Mission. NASA. Retrieved 29 March 2019. <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/rover/wheels-and-legs/" target="_blank">https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/mission/rover/wheels-and-legs/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Wheels and Legs". Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover. NASA. Retrieved 29 March 2019. <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/wheelslegs/" target="_blank">https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/rover/wheelslegs/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Rover Wheels". Mars 2020 Mission. NASA. Retrieved 29 March 2019. <a href="https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/rover/wheels/" target="_blank">https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/rover/wheels/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>https: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki1Rocker-bogie_mechanism_animation.gif Reina, Giulio (2013). "On the Mobility of All-terrain Rovers". Industrial Robot. 40 (2): 121–131. doi:10.1108/01439911311297720. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki1Rocker-bogie_mechanism_animation.gif" target="_blank">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki1Rocker-bogie_mechanism_animation.gif</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Makovsky, Andre; Ilott, Peter; Taylor, Jim (November 2009). "Mars Science Laboratory Telecommunications System Design" (PDF). Pasadena, California: Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2012-08-07. <a href="https://descanso.jpl.nasa.gov/DPSummary/Descanso14_MSL_Telecom.pdf" target="_blank">https://descanso.jpl.nasa.gov/DPSummary/Descanso14_MSL_Telecom.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Gross, Michael A.; Cardell, Greg (June 6, 2011). An overview of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (PDF). 9th European Space Power Conference (ESPC). Sainta Raphael, France. <a href="https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/42086/11-1313.pdf" target="_blank">https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/42086/11-1313.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"An Algorithm Helps Protect Mars Curiosity's Wheels". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Retrieved 2022-02-16. <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/an-algorithm-helps-protect-mars-curiositys-wheels" target="_blank">https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/an-algorithm-helps-protect-mars-curiositys-wheels</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>