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A Facility for the Verification & Validation of Robotics & Autonomy for Planetary Exploration

The development of complex autonomous surface robotic systems will be critical to future planetary exploration missions. These missions will encounter dynamically changing environments with high levels of uncertainty and will require the use of specialist test facilities to fully test these systems. This paper presents the results of a study conducted on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA) by a consortium composed of RAL Space, Astrium and SCISYS. It investigated the feasibility of a European facility for the validation and verification (V&V) of landed robotic and autonomous systems aimed primarily at the exploration of extra-terrestrial planetary surfaces. This facility would focus its activities on three key aspects: the support of rigorous Field Trials to gather “ground truth” datasets, the simulation and modelling of robotic and autonomous systems including the critical correlation with the field test data, and the fostering of a European network of facilities and expertise to support these activities. By branching out beyond the space sector, it is anticipated that it will also be able to support a range of similar terrestrial applications.