Mars Global Localization Gives Perseverance GPS-like Autonomy
TL;DR Summary
NASA's JPL repurposed Perseverance's Helicopter Base Station to run a terrain-based localization algorithm that compares the rover's navigation-camera panoramas with onboard Mars terrain maps, delivering GPS-like positioning and enabling more autonomous navigation without constant Earth-based guidance. The test used the faster HBS hardware and found RAM bit faults, which were isolated to keep the algorithm reliable, showcasing Ingenuity-era hardware enabling new capabilities for the rover.
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- NASA engineers reprogrammed Mars helicopter's Snapdragon chip to run the rover instead, reconfiguring system from 140 million miles away — repurposes its 'ancient' unused Qualcomm 801 SoC, accurate to within 10 inches Tom's Hardware
- Pia26704 Perseverance Pinpoints Its Location At Mala Mala NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (.gov)
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