When encountering terrain, what criteria are used to decide whether the rover goes over an obstacle versus going around it?
The hazard detection system on board the rover identifies an obstacle as traversible. Three settings are stored on board at this time and can be selected by command. For obstacle heigth, these values are: 6cm, 8cm and 13cm (= a wheel diameter). Based on the selected parameter, an obstacle measured at or above the setting is considered non-traversible. The rover automatically avoids non-traversible obstacles, turning away and attempting to find a path to the objective of the traverse which is free of such obstacles. Additional measurements are taken from sensors such as the bogie potentiometers, accelerometers, etc and are factored into the determination of hazard conditions. All are evaluated in determining if a path is safe for traverse. Back to the top of the page. One of the questions regarding the Rover’s batteries made me wonder why NASA isn’t using some form of rechargable batteries, where the solar panels not only allowed operation but recharged the batteries so night time opera
