FURI | Fall 2021

Determining an Optimal Task-Allocation Algorithm for Multi-Tethered Rover (MuTheR) Systems

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Multi-tethered rover (MuTheR) systems present an improved way to explore the terrain in lunar and planetary missions by utilizing the teamwork and buddy-system advantages associated with robots physically connected together. Part of a larger NASA project aimed towards the planning, estimation, and control of MuTheR systems, the fall semester component of this project involves implementing standard mixed-integer linear programming techniques to solve task-allocation problems, incorporating constraints that accommodate for the robots’ tethers, and resolving the task-allocation problems with the new constraints.

Student researcher

Walter Alex Goodwin

Mechanical engineering

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona, United States

Graduation date: Spring 2022