TRP - Towards a Highly Versatile Utility Rover for Planetary Exploration

Kurzfassung

Robotic systems are essential components of planetary exploration missions, providing both mobility and manipulation capabilities. While current systems are typically designed for a single, dedicated mission, future robots should be more versatile, adaptable, and modular to meet the demands of multi-role and multi-mission scenarios. This article presents the current stage of development of the TransRoPorter (TRP) - a highly versatile utility rover designed for future mission concepts. The rover features a torque-controlled leg-wheel suspension system, an advanced vision-based perception suite, and a manipulator equipped with a modular tool and payload interface. The TRP will serve as a terrestrial demonstrator for the development and evaluation of advanced autonomous robotic capabilities, as well as for investigating human-robot collaboration in planetary exploration contexts. Its first deployment will take place at the LUNA analog facility in Cologne, Germany.