​Cosmopilot is a navigation app that uses satellite topographical data to create safe and efficient paths for surface vehicles on other planets. It's essentially Google Maps, but for Mars!
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The inspiration for this project is the rapid increase in spacecraft launches and interplanetary plans. The app is for the "everyday spacefarer" who wants to travel on undeveloped planets.
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This project was a joint effort with myself and Andrew Prata.
System Design
The app is constructed using Google's Flutter platform, which makes it compatible with Android and iOS devices. The pathfinding is done by a modified implementation of Dijkstra's algorithm.
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This project was an entry into the HackRPI 2022 hackathon. While it may not have a practical purpose for the everyday user, it was a fun weekend programming exercise.
Data Collection
We used topographical maps of Mars from NASA orbiters to determine the terrain data. The images were then fed into a simply Python script which converted the color-bitmaps into a 2D occupancy matrix. These matrices are then used by the path planner algorithm.