Multi-Rover Payload Latching for Autonomous Lunar Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a lack of effective solutions for transporting and relocating modular and large payloads on the lunar surface, particularly for lunar landers and other equipment, which are often incapable of self-relocation and require manual handling, limiting efficiency and resource allocation for lunar missions.
Innovation Solution
A rover system equipped with control legs, propulsion components, and a latching system, capable of autonomously retrieving, transporting, and depositing payloads, with adaptive suspension and multi-rover collaboration for handling large payloads, allowing for efficient and autonomous operation on uneven terrain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual handling is used for lunar landers and equipment, then payloads can be transported, but efficiency and resource allocation are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The lunar rover is equipped with an autonomous latching system that can independently grasp and secure lunar landers without human intervention. The system uses sensors to detect payloads, activates latching mechanisms to secure them, and autonomously navigates to transport destinations, enabling self-service operation that eliminates manual handling requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical handling with an automated system combining sensors, processors, and motorized latching mechanisms. The latching system uses motor assemblies and linkages to automatically grasp and secure payloads, substituting human-operated mechanical systems with automated electromechanical systems that improve efficiency
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single rover is used for large payloads, then the system is simple, but the rover cannot handle payloads exceeding its capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent rover systems into a coordinated team that works together to transport large payloads. Each rover maintains its own complete latching and propulsion systems, and they merge their capabilities through coordinated navigation and positioning to handle payloads that exceed individual rover capacities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides large payload transportation into segments handled by multiple rovers. Each rover is responsible for a portion of the payload or a specific task in the transportation sequence, allowing the system to manage complex operations through divided responsibilities while maintaining individual system simplicity
3Adaptability or versatility
If the chassis is raised high for terrain clearance, then the rover can navigate uneven terrain, but the latching system cannot engage with payloads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic chassis positioning system where the rover adjusts its chassis height based on operational requirements. The suspension system can raise the chassis for terrain clearance during navigation, then lower it for latching operations, and raise it again for transport, creating a dynamic adaptation to different operational phases
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary positioning where the rover approaches the payload at a distance, lowers its chassis in advance to the correct height for latching, positions itself precisely, and then engages the latching system. This preliminary action ensures the chassis is at the optimal height before latching begins
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments of the disclosure are directed to multi-vehicle collaboration. In some embodiments, a first vehicle is in communication with a second vehicle. In some embodiments, one or more processors of the first vehicle are configured to communicate with one or more processors of the second vehicle to perform a joint action. In some embodiments, the one or more processors of the first vehicle are configured to selectively control components of a suspension system, a motor assembly, and/or a latch system of the vehicle to perform a first part of the joint action. In some embodiments, the one or more processors of the second vehicle are configured to selectively control components of the suspension system, the motor assembly, and/or the latch system of the second vehicle to perform a second part of the joint action.