Larry,
The first wave of rovers can be rented and driven along a user-chosen pathway with some independant avoidance protocols in place. Intentional destruction, too-steep grades, terrible terrain, and plunging into crevasses will all be programmed against. With the walk-thru maps discussed earlier, the client can check out overhead imagery and decide where they would like to travel. They could map what they think would be the fastest route up Olympus Mons. Before we worry about racing these things and having real-time feedback (I think the clients will be sufficiently impressed to tell their friends that they own time on a real Mars rover, regardless of the limitation, and there must be some limitation because recharging and weather details will not be negotiable); I think we must build something and test its limitations. I am in favor of the design I posted yesterday because it is possible to situate solar cells, it has battery room, has a high vantage point for the mounted optics, and it condenses into a ball for packaging. I am not trying to pat myself on the back, but the design feels workable without too many technological limitations. Of course, I will reread this in a year and slap myself for the jinx.
Mark Vitrone
