Experimental Validation of Deterministic Radio Propagation Model developed for Communication-aware Path Planning

Large scale planetary surface exploration by a multi-robot system requires collective behavior and information exchange between the agents, which demands for a valid communication model. This paper aims to validate a proposed deterministic radio propagation model developed towards co-ordinated path planning of multi-robot systems, by the means of terrestrial experiments. The model developed for planetary surface exploration considers the specific characteristics of the site and low-heighted antennas of micro-rovers to determine the point-to-point signal quality. For validation purposes, the terrain geometry of the experiment site on Earth is studied, and the propagation parameters are adjusted accordingly. The point-to-point communication links for three different carrier frequencies and two different transmitter antenna heights are measured. The model was then updated such that the received signal strength and the path gains from the measured data fit well with the predicted data. Therefore, the developed radio propagation model with the required adjustments can be applied for communication-aware path planning of moving rovers on any planetary surface if the topography of the operating region is known in advance.