{"id":1983,"date":"2013-01-03T13:24:10","date_gmt":"2013-01-03T12:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomasjpitts.co.uk\/wp\/?p=1983"},"modified":"2013-01-03T13:24:10","modified_gmt":"2013-01-03T12:24:10","slug":"day-3-rolling-robotic-hedgehogs-could-explore-martian-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasjpitts.co.uk\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/03\/day-3-rolling-robotic-hedgehogs-could-explore-martian-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 3: Rolling robotic ‘hedgehogs’ could explore Martian moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I saw the above headline, I had a Metal Sonic<\/a> image in my head… however, since it is plastered all over the internet at the moment, as the related articles below show, there is some merit in this story which I saw on The Verge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A team of researchers thinks that small, spiked robots might be our best option for exploring space. Stanford<\/a>‘s Marco Pavone, along with scientists from NASA<\/a> and MIT<\/a>, are working on prototype “hedgehogs” \u2014 autonomous rounded rovers a half-meter wide that could tumble over short distances and hop longer ones. Unlike current wheel- or tread-based rovers, the spheres would have greater freedom of movement and take advantage of a weak gravitational pull<\/a>, using three rotating discs to shift its center of gravity. The ideal testing ground would be Phobos<\/a>, a moon of Mars<\/a>. Research on Phobos could yield information about Mars itself, laying groundwork for a future manned mission<\/a> to the planet. As such, it’s being funded by NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Program.<\/p>\n

According to a\u00a0release from Stanford<\/a>, a hypothetical mission would involve a total of five or six spheres held by a larger Surveyor<\/a> craft. The Surveyor would gather general data from Phobos, while the spheres would be released one at a time to capture more fine-grained detail from the surface. That’s still, however, several years away. Currently, Pavone and his team are preparing to test a third generation of prototypes, first on Earth<\/a>-bound terrain and later in a low-gravity aircraft. Tests of the Surveyor craft are planned in two to four years, with an actual flight closer to 10 or 20 years in the future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They complete their article by linking to the project’s website<\/a> where you can see some prototypes tumbling and hopping!<\/p>\n

Via<\/strong>: The Verge<\/a><\/p>\n

Related articles<\/h6>\n