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We are on Mars!

Mars exploration is one of the strongest robotics example applications emerging today.  This is a not just a novelty or a entertainment device, this is a problem that cannot be solved any other way at this time.  Exploring robots offer one of the first examples of how robotics and specifically autonomous robots will begin affecting our lives and enhancing our understanding of our surroundings.  If you have a connection to a specific application or project around the Mars robotics exploration, please let us know.  We would be happy to add it to the growing list below. 

NASA Rover Project

Mars Rover

NASA successfully landed a mission on Mars on Jan 3rd with the Spirit Rover.  This great new rover will remain parked for a few days to charge up, run diagnostics, and establish direct communications with mission control.  Then it will set off to explore and assess the landing site inside a large crater on the Martian surface.  Keep an eye out for the second landing on Jan 24th (PST) of the second rover on the other side of the planet. 

For more information visit the NASA Mars Mission Pages . 

Mars Time

A day on Mars is roughly 24 hours and 39 minutes.  This means the teams working with the rover remotely from Earth need to wake and sleep on Mars time so that they can work with the rover during the daylight on Mars. 

Acroname has been working with Randy Sargent of NASA Ames putting together a modified consumer clock for use by the team to manage the time on Mars.  We have come up with the Mars Clock for the NASA team as well as anybody else who would like to know the time on Mars. 

This ends up being a pretty challenging circumstance for those working on the rover.  It is like being jet-lagged all the time as you are awake a bit longer and your day drifts through the night and day hours here on Earth.  Along with this time shift, you are forced to be extremely alert and careful as a mistake in navigation, software, or communication could upset the robot 100 million miles away.  This is a bit different than just reaching over and re-connecting that loose connector or rebooting your operating system every once and a while!

Personal Rover Project

PER Mobile Robot

CMU and NASA have been working for several years towards the goal of a personal rover for use by budding roboticists here on earth to learn the complexity and rewards of remote navigation and robotics discovery.  Acroname has been involved in this project through the design and supply of many key portions of the Trikebot project.  Currently, the succesor to the trikebot is being released in several locations around the US.  If you are near any of these, they are worth a look at!

The Personal Rover pages have more information about this robot. 

Acroname Rover

Our old Acroname Rover has been employed at a Mars Desert Research Station for use in testing the feasibility of GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) as a means of understanding unusual radar signatures from a UAV on Mars.  This testing was done in the Utah Desert last summer. 

Specifications and more details about the Acroname Rover . 

Center for Mars Exploration

NASA has a wonderful website full of information on Mars exploration.  Here is a link:

Related Links:

NASA/CMU Summer Robot Course featuring the Acroname-powered Trikebot