Robotic Vehicle Proxy Simulation, Phase I

Energid Technologies proposes the development of a digital simulation that can replace robotic vehicles in field studies. This proxy simulation will model the dynamics, terrain interaction, sensors, control, communications, and interfaces of the robotic vehicle with the goal of making field studies easier and more thorough. The simulation will be easy to use by simple execution on a networked PC. It will be thorough in its ability to model a range of environments, from terrestrial to lunar, and through its ability to provide extensive sensor and truth data for analysis. The effort will include the development of robot and environment models tailored to the simulation of field-study vehicles, and it will emphasize mimicking the network interfaces used by NASA. The proxy simulation will be able to model multiple robots simultaneously, and included in the effort is the development of tools to support the control and visualization of multiple robots during field tests. Energid will design the system and implement components for demonstration at the end of the Phase I.