Moon rover LRU presented on ILA

From the 20th–25th May 2014 the International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition ILA was held in Berlin. More than 220,000 professionals and visitors saw, among other things a good presentation of space themes in the Space Pavilion and at the booth of DLR and the BMWi.
On the DLR stand the Moon Rover „LRU“ designated for the ROBEX space demonstration mission was presented. The Lightweight Rover Unit (LRU) of DLR is the prototype of a semi-autonomous robot for exploration of the Moon or Mars. It combines a variety of the latest technologies that have been developed at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, such as the propulsion and steering units. Their engines already demonstrate their suitability for space application during the  ROKVISS experiment for five years on the ISS. A stereo camera and the award-winning Semi-Global Matching stereo method gives the robot the ability to perceive its environment in 3D. From this the robot calculates the rover local maps and then controls autonomously in unknown and uneven terrain predefined targets. These autonomous navigation is important because signals from the earth need many seconds or minutes and make it difficult to direct remote control.