Mars Rover

Star Lord, an economical multi-function rover is designed. The main material of the rover structure is aluminum. The rover is about 250mm in length, 250mm in width, 300mm in height, and 8kg in weight. The rover is equipped with 8 solar panels, with total area of 3500mm^2, which is able to support all the electricity consumed during the daily exploration.

A transformation system is designed to protect the solar panels. The transformation system is able to fold the solar panels and protect them inside the rover structure within 3 seconds after strong wind is detected.

For the auto cruise system, the rover is controlled by the Arduino board and an ultrasonic sensor and is able to avoid obstacles automatically. The system can stop the rover within 5cm after an obstacle is detected.

The rover is equipped with crawlers, which help it adapt to the bumpy and mountainous ground on Mars surface better. As is tested, with the same load and velocity, the rover with crawlers is able to climb up an inclined plane with the slant angle about 60% larger than that of a rover with normal wheels.

The detection system mainly consists of an anemometer and a camera controlled by mechanical arms. Both sensors can detect the information and data accurately. Some algorithms are also designed to reduce the data noise, so that the data curves can be smoother and more readable.