Design of Rover Wheel Testing Apparatus

A Rover’s wheel performance is one of the limiting factors in its ability to successfully traverse other planets. More research focusing on wheel materials, design, and optimized tread patterns needs to be conducted so that a rover can reach more of its potential. A wheel test bed is being fabricated to test new wheel designs and to collect data which will be used to map the relationship between a wheel’s design and its performance on different planetary terrains in different mission roles. The Suspension and Wheel Evaluation and Experimentation Testbed (S.W.E.E.T.) can measure traction, sinkage, lateral force, compliancy, and rolling efficiency for each wheel tested. The data collected by the testbed will be used to understand and fabricate wheels that are specifically suited for particular planetary mission tasks. These tasks will go beyond the current missions of exploration and include such roles as regolith excavation, equipment transportation, and equipment manipulation.