An hexapod rover for small and educational experiment on autonomous navigation system and algorithms

This paper describes the project and the prototype construction of an hexapod rover for planetary exploration, based on off-the-shelf components as starting point for autonomous navigation experiments. The motion system of the rover is based on two stages: a main controller and six single legs controllers. The main controller is in charge of commanding each leg, to control the power supply, to collect telemetry from all legs and to transmit it to the main computer. It also provides power up to six external devices. The single legs controllers receive and elaborate all commands, process sensors readout and handle unexpected situations, such as a small obstacle, trying to solve autonomously the problem. Other subsystems have been developed: the radar is an infrared sensor capable to measure distances up to about 1 meter, installed on a 2-axys system that allows to cover up to 180° horizontally and 90° vertically with a spatial resolution up to 0.257°. It can perform scan on a single line for fast obstacle detection or generate an high-resolution map for accurate ground mapping. A digital camera can snap pictures for object detection, wireless transmitted to the control station; also a GPS predisposition has been included.