A fully autonomous vehicle designed as a planetary rover has been successfully tested in Chile\'s Mars-like Atacama Desert, scientists say. The recent test of the Seeker full-scale rover is a step toward creating unmanned rovers that can navigate their own way on alien planets, the European Space Agency reported from its Paris Headquarters. A multidisciplinary team worked at the site in Chile, it said. \"Their challenge was to demonstrate how a planetary rover -- programmed with state-of-the-art software for autonomous navigation and making decisions -- could traverse 6 kilometers (3.75 miles) in a Mars-like environment and come back where it started,\" ESA\'s Gianfranco Visentin said. Since it takes radio signals up to 40 minutes to make the trip to Mars and back, Mars rovers cannot be \"driven\" directly from Earth, researchers said, and instead must be given instructions to carry out autonomously. \"ESA\'s ExoMars rover, due to land on Mars in 2018, will have state-of-the-art autonomy,\" Visentin said. \"Lacking GPS on Mars, the rover can only determine how far it has moved relative to its starting point, but the errors in \'dead reckoning\' build up into risky uncertainties.\" Seeker used its stereo vision to map its surroundings, assess how far it had moved and plan its route, making sure to avoid obstacles, researchers said. \"We managed 5.1 kilometer (3.1 miles), somewhat short of our 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) goal, but an excellent result considering the variety of terrain crossed, changes in lighting conditions experienced and most of all this was ESA\'s first large-scale rover test -- though definitely not our last,\" Visentin said.
GMT 20:46 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
New app to help Indians apply for UAE jobs visaGMT 21:37 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Champagne box-sized satellite launchedGMT 21:32 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Man's best friend goes high techGMT 16:11 2018 Friday ,12 January
UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science leads the way to new scientific and technological horizonsGMT 09:35 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
SpaceX launches secretive Zuma missionGMT 21:38 2018 Friday ,05 January
Our reliance on technology is having an effect on us allGMT 07:47 2017 Sunday ,24 December
China jails VPN owner for over five yearsGMT 20:59 2017 Saturday ,25 November
Now make unlimited voice, video calls in UAE for Dh50

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor