Antenna pointing for high bandwidth communications from mobile robots

This paper discusses the challenge of achieving high bandwidth, distant range wireless communication from mobile robots by way of antenna tracking. In the case of robots traversing rough terrain at moderate speeds, tracking demands high slew rates and large motion ranges due to vehicle motion disturbances. Attaining tracking accuracy, particular with the low mass and power inherent to mobile robots, requires an innovative approach. This paper presents the requirements analysis, mechanism design, sensor configuration and some experimental results for an antenna pointing mechanism that was developed for Nomad, a planetary-relevant mobile robot. The mechanism was demonstrated during the summer of 1997 in Nomad's 200 km traverse in the Atacama Desert of Chile.