Rocky 7 - Mojave Desert Field Experiments Experimenter's Notebook Day 3: Thursday, December 19, 1996 Description of Events

On Thursday an extensive reconnaissance was done of the May test site on southern Lavic Lake. Rover operations focused on remote operations using the WITS (Web Interface for Telescience) software. Groups from JPL, NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and a grade school in Colorado Springs took turns putting Rocky 7 through its paces.

Examination of the May test site revealed that it possessed much more bush vegetation than the December site. Rocky 7 will have to navigate around these bushes in May, but there was some concern that the rover's obstacle avoidance software would not recognize these diffuse bushes as obstacles. Therefore, the rover was placed near a bush at the December test site and commanded to travel through it. As Rocky 7 neared the bush, it began navigating a course around the bush's circumference. This proved that the rover's software recognized these bushes as obstacles, thus eliminating the need for a software change for May's test.