MARS EXPLORER LITE

Shane Pilsworth

This EE552 design project consists of the digital system used to control a small vehicle with attached measurement equipment for remote surveying, a la the Mars Sojourner. The controlling station will transmit target coordinates to the remote system. The remote vehicle will then autonomously navigate to the specified location and take a number of measurements using onboard sensors. Upon acquisition, sensor data will be transmitted back to the control station using an optional RF transmitter. Additionally, the system will be capable of operating with minimal user intervention to permit applications where a low latency link is unavailable, i.e. planetary exploration. All control logic is contained in an Altera EPF10K20RC240-4 FPGA.

If you are interested in finding more about this project the final report is available:

The following documentation is also available for download in Microsoft Word format:

You can also check out some application notes on

Last updated:

02/12/98 02:05 PM