Multi-Robot Exploration for the CADRE Mission

We present the design, implementation and testing of a multi-robot exploration algorithm for NASA’s upcoming Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) technology demonstration mission. The CADRE mission, among its various objectives, en- tails utilizing a trio of autonomous mobile robots to collaboratively explore and construct a map of a designated area of the lunar surface. Given the mission’s inherent constraints, including limited mission duration, constrained power resources, and restricted communica- tion capabilities, we formulate an exploration algorithm to perform exploration efficiency, facilitate equitable workload distribution among individual agents, and minimize inter-robot communication. To achieve these requirements, we employ a semi-centralized exploration algorithm that partitions the unexplored area, regardless of its shape and size, into a series of non-overlapping partitions, assigning each partition to a specific robot for exploration. Each robot autonomously explores its designated region without intervention from other robots. We implement the proposed algorithm on prototype Lunar rovers and test its functional- ity through rigorous testing in various scenarios in the JPL’s Moon Yard testing facility. Additional simulation experiments further explore its design space of the algorithm, and demonstrate its performance.