Research on Autonomous Lunar Exploration Rover

为了准备日本可能在不久的将来实现的月球计划，对月球车科学探测月球的技术进行了研究。弹性车轮被证明在穿越覆盖在月球表面的由粉末状细颗粒组成的月球层方面非常有效。此外，还提出了几种类型的悬浮机构来处理分散在月球山脉陡坡上的障碍物。对于远程控制月球车和车载机械手，提出了一种新的方案，即我们所说的半自主控制系统，它减轻了地面操作员的负担，并提高了月球车系统的远程操作效率。为了验证上述机构和远程控制方案的有效性，我们开发了一系列的月球车模型，我们称之为Lubot(月球机器人)。

Research on lunar rover technology for the scientific exploration of the moon has been conducted in preparation for Japan's possible lunar project expected to be realized in the near future.Elastic wheels have been shown to be very effective in negotiating the lunar regolith, composed of powder-like fine particles, which covers lunar surface. Also, several types of suspension mechanism have been proposed to tackle the obstacles which are scattered on the steep slopes of the lunar mountains.For remotely controlling a lunar rover and on-board manipulator, a new scheme of what we call a semi-autonomous control system has been proposed which alleviates a burden on the operators on the ground and also enhance the efficiency of the remote operation of the rover system.A series of rover models which we call LUBOT(LUnar roBOT) has been developed to confirm the above mentioned mechanisms and remote control scheme and their effectiveness has been confirmed.