MARTIAN SWARM EXPLORATION AND MAPPING USING LASER SLAM

Abstract. In order to explore planet Mars in detail and search for extra-terrestrial life the observation from orbit is not sufficient. To realize complex exploration tasks the use of automatic operating robots with a robust fault-tolerant method of navigation, independent of any infrastructure is a possibility. This work includes a concept of rotary-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) for Martian exploration in a swarm. Besides the scenario of Martian surrounding, with a small number of distinctive landmarks, the challenge consists of a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) concept using laser data of all swarm members.