Mars robotic rover:
The same software that lets people play video games on their cell phones allows scientists to remotely drive Spirit across the surface of Mars.
"The software developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid-1990s as a universal platform for Internet applications, gave NASA a low-cost and easy-to-use option for running Spirit, the robotic rover that rolled onto the planet’s surface on Thursday in search of signs of water and life," says a Reuters story here.
Moreover, there are virtually no changes to Maestro, an online version of the program which lets you cruise Mars.
Now, for the next three months, NASA scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena will plot Spirit’s wanderings with the Java-based Science Activity Planner. ‘It takes all the raw data in the mission data base and builds a 3-D terrain you can spin around and zoom in,’ Gene Chalfant, JPL technical staffer, said.
"With the same point-and-click skills one would need for, say, online shopping, the NASA team will plan Spirit’s daily activities, page through voluminous data and communicate.
"It’s a sandbox, in a way, to try different ideas," Chalfant said.
Separately, Alameda, California-based Wind River Systems, created the embedded software in Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, that manage a wide range of functions, including data collection and communications, adds the story.
January 16th, 2004 at 3:41 pm
I tried this, it is pretty cool although you need a hefty machine or it will crawl.
Basically it seems to be a way you can explore the area around the Mars rover in 3D. The 3D environment is created using actual images and data collected by the rover for utmost accuracy. You can also assign labels to things.