An Integrated Wheeled Perception System for Measuring Wheel-Terrain Interaction Characteristics

Using a wheeled bevameter (WB) to measure wheel-terrain interaction (WTI) properties ahead of a planetary rover has become a trending and effective way to assess the mechanical properties of the terrain and improve the trafficability of planetary rovers in recent years. In this article, an integrated wheeled perception system (IWPS) is designed and implemented to overcome the shortcomings of previous WBs. In situ measurement of WTI forces, wheel slip ratio, and sinkage can be achieved through such an IWPS. The proposed IWPS can be installed on both off-road and laboratory test platforms for terrain characterization. Some terramechanics tests, including pressure-sinkage and pressing-moving experiments, are performed through the proposed IWPS, and the experimental results agree well with the previous literature using test rigs with a nonsensory wheel. Compared to the literature, our proposed method reduces the width of the test wheel and avoids the WTI force measurement error caused by wheel support deflection. We also conducted a typical scenario field test to validate the potential capability of the system to recognize invisible terrain variation.