Contemporary Planetary Robotics - An Approach Toward Autonomous Systems

Filling the gap for readers from both academia and industry wishing to pursue their studies and/or careers in this emerging field, this is a one-stop tour of the history, evolution, key systems, and technologies of planetary robotics.
The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the R&D aspects, ranging from robotic vision, surface rover locomotion, navigation, and remote/semi/autonomous operation, to sample acquisition/preparation, and subsurface mobility. It equally offers a systematic overview of major planetary robotic systems, covering the rovers, manipulators, samplers and drillers. It also includes a chronicle to explain the evolution of robotics within planetary missions since the Surveyor 3 mission in the 1960s.
The definitive reference on autonomous robotics and an important contribution to current and future programs run by such space agencies as ESA and NASA.

Professor Yang Gao is the Professor of Autonomous Systems within Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. She heads the Surrey Technology for Autonomous Systems and Robotics (STAR) Lab that specializes in autonomy & modeling, visual navigation, modern control theories, robot soil interaction and biomietic mechanisms with applications to planetary robotics and systems. She brings over ten years of research experience in solving robotic system problems, in which she have been a Principle Investigator and Co-Investigator of over ten internationally teamed projects. Yang Gao is also actively involved in space mission design and promoting the Surrey "Low-cost" Space Engineering Approach within missions like ExoMars, MoonLITE, Moonraker, LunarEX/NET, and Marco Polo-R, etc.