Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test platform for planetary rovers was designed, fabricated and tested in the present work. The ability for planetary rover designers and mission planners to estimate the rover’s performance through software simulation is crucial. HIL testing can further the benefits of software simulations by allowing designers to incorporate hardware components within traditionally pure software simulations. This provides more accurate performance results without having access to all hardware components, as would be required for a full prototype testing. The test platform is designed with complete modularity such that different types of tests can be performed for varying types of planetary rovers and in different environments. For demonstrating the operation of the test platform, however, the power system operation of a solar powered rover was examined. The system consists of solar panels, a solar charge controller, a battery, a DC/DC converter, a DC motor and a flywheel. In addition, a lighting system was designed to simulate the solar radiation conditions solar panels would experience throughout a typical day. On the software side, a library of component models was developed within MapleSim and model parameters were tuned to match the hardware on the test bench. A program was developed for real-time simulations within Labview allowing communication between hardware components and software models. This program consists of all the component models, hardware controls and data acquisitioning. The GUI of this program allows users to select which component is to be tested and which component is to be simulated, change model parameters as well as see real time sensor measurements for each component. A signal scaling technique based on non-dimensionalization is also presented, which can be used in an HIL application for obtain scaling factors to ensure dynamic similarity between two systems. A demonstration of power estimation was performed using the pure software model simulations as well as the pure hardware testing. Hardware components were then added into the software simulation progressively with results showing better accuracy as hardware is added. The rover’s power flow was also estimated under different load conditions and seasonal variation. These simulations clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of an HIL platform for testing a rover’s hardware performance.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test platform for planetary rovers was designed, fabricated and tested in the present work. The ability for planetary rover designers and mission planners to estimate the rover’s performance through software simulation is crucial. HIL testing can further the benefits of software simulations by allowing designers to incorporate hardware components within traditionally pure software simulations. This provides more accurate performance results without having access to all hardware components, as would be required for a full prototype testing. The test platform is designed with complete modularity such that different types of tests can be performed for varying types of planetary rovers and in different environments. For demonstrating the operation of the test platform, however, the power system operation of a solar powered rover was examined. The system consists of solar panels, a solar charge controller, a battery, a DC/DC converter, a DC motor and a flywheel. In addition, a lighting system was designed to simulate the solar radiation conditions solar panels would experience throughout a typical day. On the software side, a library of component models was developed within MapleSim and model parameters were tuned to match the hardware on the test bench. A program was developed for real-time simulations within Labview allowing communication between hardware components and software models. This program consists of all the component models, hardware controls and data acquisitioning. The GUI of this program allows users to select which component is to be tested and which component is to be simulated, change model parameters as well as see real time sensor measurements for each component. A signal scaling technique based on non-dimensionalization is also presented, which can be used in an HIL application for obtain scaling factors to ensure dynamic similarity between two systems. A demonstration of power estimation was performed using the pure software model simulations as well as the pure hardware testing. Hardware components were then added into the software simulation progressively with results showing better accuracy as hardware is added. The rover’s power flow was also estimated under different load conditions and seasonal variation. These simulations clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of an HIL platform for testing a rover’s hardware performance.