Ambulating Robots for Exploration in Rough Terrain on Future Extraterrestial Missions

We present the SCORPION project and the new ESTEC funded ARAMIES project to design, built and program a multi-functional, multi-degree of freedom, ambulating robot that is capable of autonomous operation in extremely difficult environments. The special focus in the ARAMIES project is on very uneven and steep terrain, e.g. crater slopes. The software approach of both robots is based on a bio-inspired behavior based control concept, which produces very robust and stable walking patterns.