2024/05/23 by Tony G. Chen, Chen, Tony G., Julia Di +9
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Planetary Science and Exploration #Robotics (cs.RO) #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Space Exploration and Technology
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2405.15005
openalex publication_date 2024/05/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
ReachBot is a robot concept for the planetary exploration of caves and lava tubes, which are often inaccessible with traditional robot locomotion methods. It uses extendable booms as appendages, with grippers mounted at the end, to grasp irregular rock surfaces and traverse these difficult terrains. We have built a partial ReachBot prototype consisting of a single boom and gripper, mounted on a tripod. We present the details on the design and field test of this partial ReachBot prototype in a lava tube in the Mojave Desert. The technical requirements of the field testing, implementation details, and grasp performance results are discussed. The planning and preparation of the field test and lessons learned are also given.