VaMEx3-VTB

VaMEx Logo

Overview

The overarching goal of the VaMEx project is to explore and search for forms of non-terrestrial life in the Valles Marineris, using an autonomous swarm consisting of rovers, crawlers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The goal of VaMEx3, the third phase of VaMEx, is to bring all the technologies to a TRL (technology readiness level) that allows for a analog field test in an region on Earth that is characterized by the same features and challenges as the Valles Marineris on Mars.

Cover image of the virtual twin developed by CGVR.

The VaMEx3 consortium is comprised of 14 partners, research institutes and companies (SMEs), funded by the DLR (German Space Agency). The computer graphics lab (CGVR) at University of Bremen is coordinating and managing the project.

The sub-project VaMEx3-VRN has two main goals:

Virtual Twin

The virtual twin is our main contribution to the VaMEx3 project.

It is developed using Unreal Engine 5 and C++ and has two main goals:

Environment

Simulation of day/night cycle using the real sun position (generated by JPL Horizons Web Application)

Sensor simulation

Ray visualization of LiDAR sensors (blue) and radio beacons

Ray visualization of LiDAR sensors (blue) and radio beacons

Simulated RGB sensor data

Simulated depth sensor data

Simulated LiDAR sensor data

Publications

TBD