Manipulator System for a Robotic Vehicle

A prototype manipulator system that includes two different arms has been tentatively selected for use on a semiautonomous robotic vehicle called Rocky 7 (see figure). [A previous version of this vehicle with a single manipulator arm was described in "High-Performance Robotic Vehicle" (NPO-19921) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 21, No. 1 (January 1997), page 67.] Rocky 7 is the most recent one in a series of such vehicles that are candidates for use in future remotely controlled scientific exploration of the surface of Mars. In comparison with the Sojourner vehicle deployed on Mars from the Mars Pathfinders pacecraft in July 1997, Rocky 7 would carry more scientific instrumentation and would function with greater autonomy, mobility, and capability for manipulation. The basic design of Rocky 7 and the other vehicles in the series could also be adapted to such terrestrial uses as remote surveillance and/or manipulation in remote and/or hostile environments.