[X] My Assistant

[slinted]

This recently published work describes in great detail the driving software used for the MERs with a specific description of all the various driving modes (directed, blind waypoint, autonav, guarded, vis-odometry, etc).

M W Maimone J J Biesiadecki, "The Mars Exploration Rover Surface Mobility Flight Software: Driving Ambition," March 2006 IEEE Aerospace conference proceedings, Big Sky, Montana, USA, 8 march 2006.

One of the interesting points to me was the difficulty of matching features in the L/R Hazcam images for Opportunity. From the sounds of it, the Hazcams were intended to be the only auto-nav cameras, with the Navcams aiding planning on the ground. But, with the bare uniformity of the sands at Meridiani, they had to reconfigure the software to use the Navcams instead. I just find it incredible that such a dramatic change was within the flexible parameters they set up initially, even though the Hazcams were the tested solution to the navigation problem.

[jamescanvin]

That makes sense, thanks for looking it up.