Manual control of the Rover

Introduction

Having the control of a vehicle remotely is hard, but if it's located on Mars it's even harder. This page will thoroughly explain everything in a paint-by-numbers fashion. Leaving nothing to interpretation. It's Mars isn't it?

Control pad

• Camera
  The camera button located on the top left corner is the starting point for all camera related activities. Snapshots, footage of the SmartRover a long with a livestream of the excursion will all be accessed through that centralised application. Easy, accessible and efficient.
• Up arrow
  A up arrow will direct the SmartRover in a straight direction with respect to the heading off the SmartRover vehicle and increment the speed upon clicking the button in either direction.
• Power button
  Will activate and deactivate the SmartRover. When the button is clicked it can display one of which modes indicated by specific set of colouring. Green and Grey. Green color indicates that the SmartRover has been turned on and is now reactive to commands given to it from Manual Control Panel. When clicking the green button the SmartRover will be deactivated from its previously active state. A deactivated state is indicated by grey. A color that is set to default for the Panel.
• Left arrow
  A left arrow will direct the SmartRover to the left incrementally with each left click.
• Stop Button
  The Stop Button will stop the SmartRover with no braking distance independent of the speed of the SmartRover
• Right arrow
  The right arrow will direct the SmartRover to the left incrementally with each right click.
• Satellite connection button
  The Satellite connection button on the bottom left corner will connect the SmartRover to the Mars Orbiter satellite to transfer telemetry and camera data from the SmartRover through a central hub called the broker. Telemetry data will be updated every 3 seconds and camera feed will live at VGA (30 fps) resolution.
• Down arrow
  The Down arrow will reverse the SmartRover and the speed will also be incremented with each click.
• Obstacle Avoidance Button
  The Obstacle Avoidance Button will activate the obstacles avoidance function that will activate the SmartRovers sensors for detecting nearby obstacles within a given radius.

Now you can easily control the Rover. Everything close to hand on a single page. How effortless!

Telemetry

• Heading - On the Telemetry field, data regarding the heading will be displayed in real-time through a synchronization with the SmartRover. By moving the SmartRover the vehicles heading will be affected and continuously updated on the Telemetry field. The result and data will be translated to degrees.
• Throttle - Throttle will be displayed in % and will describe the correlation between power or speed and the regulation of the engine. By monitoring the speed of the vehicle you will directly affect the Throttle which will be picked up and translated into the Telemetry field.
• Speed - The speed of the SmartRover will also be displayed in the Telemetry field and translated to m/s. By monitoring the SmartRover, by setting and modulating the overall speed and acceleration will set off a chain reaction to the Telemetry field. Displaying accurate data in real-time and by sequence of events in order.
• Turn angle - By using the Control Panel or sending commands to the SmartRover you will be able to change and monitor the SmartRovers direction completely. Commands will be discussed further down, but by using the Control Panel, the buttons representing possible direction will trigger the SmartRover to move or try to move accordingly with regards to possible obstacles or interruptions.
• Total distance - The total distance will be collected upon spawning in the Mars landscape. Every distance that was travelled will be logged and added. The unit in which everything will be calculated is in meters. This will grant the user control over the mileage in addition to providing a useful tool to estimate and approximate with regards to mileage and distance travelled.

Terminal console

• Commands - The SmartRover is programmed to respond to different ascribed commands. Each with a set of instructions that the SmartRover is able to complete and follow through with. With respect to the circumstances and the complexity of the game. //List of commands for user
• How to drive - The SmartRover was designed and equipped with a Control Panel that resembles that of a real car. Only difference is that the SmartRover is monitored remotely. Meaning that it communicates with the user by reeling data through a server called the Broker(MQTT). By pressing a button or writing an ascribed command for the SmartRover the user will be able to steer the SmartRover and exercise full control over its entirety. From the direction, acceleration, speed to turning angle or heading. All this information can be retrieved in the Mission Control page of the SmartRover
• Ask date and time
• More stuff

Serial feed

Serial feed will display activities of the SmartRover in plain and understandable text format for the user. It will demonstrate and translate activities executed by the SmartRover and display it on the serial feed in time order for the user to see. This can include speed, acceleration, turning angle and finding mission tasks and its whereabouts. All this information will come in handy when trying to navigate to set mission tasks in addition to notifying and displaying actions performed by the SmartRover so that the user can follow up on what actions have been taken in order to evaluate the mission tasks and its progress. All in all the Serial Feed function will provide users with crucial and relevant information in simple and plain text format. Something which is of huge importance for missions on a foreign and peculiar planet like Mars.

Camera livestream

The SmartRover is equipped with a multifunctional camera that can take both snapshots as well as offer livestream. The unique and inbuilt camera is synchronised with the SmartRover in order to provide figurative images and livestreams with high level of accuracy. Not only is it designed to offer the highest possible resolution in the form of images and livestreams but also to aid users in completing mission tasks and bringing the experience as close to reality as possible.