Abstract: Based on the concept of reconfigurability, a new modular planetary rover system is designed for planetary exploration. It consists of the parent body and some children robots. A child robot is composed of the wheel part and the arm part, and has two moving modes. It can give output in different forms under various constraint conditions with only one actuator, so it can move during the two modes. The influence of the mechanical parameters on the rover locomotion is analyzed. The results are proved by the simulation and experiments. The method can be also applied to the parameterized design and parameterized adjustment of the rover.

Key words: Mechanical parameter, Parameterized design, Planetary rover, Reconfigurability, image definition, relational model, resolution evaluation algorithm, surface roughness