Calculation on the pitch angle of rocker of a rocker lunar rover in uneven terrain and path planning

For the concerted motion of rocker lunar rover, the pitch angle of rocker of a rocker lunar rover in uneven terrain must be calculated. According to the character of passive shape-shifting adaptive suspension of rocker lunar rover, the model of rocker lunar rover and the model of terrain were both simplified. The pitch angle of rocker was calculated using forward solving, reverse solving and the method of offsetting the curve of terrain respectively. Because of the banishment of the nonlinearity of equation sets of calculation by reverse solving, the calculation of the pitch angle based on reverse solving was programmed by means of MATLAB. Simulations were carried out by means of ADAMS. The result verified the validity of the calculation based on reverse solving. It provides the theoretical foundation for motion planning and path planning of rocker lunar rover. As applications of the calculation of pitch angle of rocker, the multi-attribute decision making of path based on the concerted motion planning and the predictive control on lunar rover based on the Markov prediction model were introduced.