Donald B. Bickler
Donald B. Bickler was an American mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He is best known for developing the rocker-bogie suspension system, a six-wheeled articulated mobility architecture first flown on the Sojourner rover during NASA’s 1997 Mars Pathfinder mission and later adopted for subsequent Mars rovers.[1][2][3]
Education
Bickler earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University in 1956.[4]
Early career
After graduating, Bickler worked in automotive and mechanical systems. A U.S. patent for a gas carbureting apparatus lists him as an inventor and identifies his affiliation with Stewart-Warner Corporation.[5]
By the early 1960s he was working in photovoltaic measurement and solar instrumentation. In 1963, he co-authored Solar Energy Measurement Techniques with Bernd Ross, describing measurement and calibration methods for solar cell performance in aerospace contexts.[6] A 1967 patent lists him as an inventor of a solar radiation simulation apparatus for laboratory testing of photovoltaic devices (commonly referred to as a solar simulator).[7]
Career at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Bickler joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1975 and spent more than four decades at the laboratory; JPL publications later noted both 30 years of service (as of 2005) and his retirement in October 2017 after 42 years at JPL.[8][9]
Solar energy engineering
During the late 1970s Bickler contributed to JPL solar-energy work associated with U.S. Department of Energy programs. He co-authored a DOE/JPL report summarizing an LSA Project technology development update presented at the 10th Project Integration Meeting (August 1978).[10] In a 1979 JPL report on the SAMICS cost-analysis methodology, the author credited Bickler’s encouragement and insistence on rigorous analysis during early development as important to the methodology’s applicability and validation.[11]
Rover mobility research
By the late 1980s Bickler was involved in rover mobility studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) during early mission planning for robotic Mars exploration. Contemporary reporting later described experimental rover prototypes developed at JPL using a six-wheel articulated mobility system created by Bickler.[1]
Development of the rocker-bogie suspension
During early rover mission studies Bickler began developing articulated mobility concepts for planetary rovers and constructed several early rover prototypes in his garage before the rover project had formal funding.[12][13]
The earliest prototype was an articulated wooden rover model that demonstrated the stability and range of motion of a springless suspension capable of maintaining wheel contact while traversing obstacles larger than a wheel diameter.[13]
Bickler subsequently developed a motorized experimental rover sometimes referred to as the “Bickler pantograph”, which used parallel four-bar linkages to achieve high ground clearance and improved obstacle-traversal capability.[13][12]
Later experimental rovers known as the Rocky series incorporated a rocker-bogie articulation system that retained the mobility advantages of the earlier designs while improving obstacle-climbing performance over previous six-wheel rover concepts developed at JPL.[13][12]
Bickler’s suspension architecture was formalized in U.S. Patent 4,840,394, Articulated Suspension System, filed in 1987 and issued in 1989.[14]
Use on Mars rovers
The articulated rocker-bogie suspension was adopted for the rover developed for NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission. The design first flew on the Sojourner rover in 1997 and later formed the basis of mobility systems used on subsequent Mars rover missions.[15][2]
Other engineering contributions
Bickler’s published work also included off-road traction analysis. In 1990 he authored an SAE technical paper describing a method for computing traction forces when all wheels of a vehicle are slipping under eccentric loading conditions.[16]
He also co-authored a NASA Tech Brief describing all-metal tires intended for environments where elastomeric and pneumatic tires would not function (including extreme temperatures).[17]
Awards and honors
- NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal for contributions to the Mars Pathfinder rover program.[18][19]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Flam, Faye (1992-09-18). "Swarms of Mini-Robots Set to Take on Mars Terrain". Science. New Series. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 257 (5077): 1621.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Portree, David S. F. (2014-02-15). "Mars Rover/Sample Return Pre-Phase A (1988)". Wired.
- ↑ Steltzner, Adam (2016). The Right Kind of Crazy: A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership, and High-Stakes Innovation. Penguin Press. pp. 27–28. Search this book on
- ↑ "Annual Commencement 1956" (PDF). Northwestern University. 1956.
- ↑ US 3136613, Donald B. Bickler, "Gas carbureting apparatus", issued 1964-06-09
- ↑ Ross, Bernd; Bickler, Donald B. (1963). Solar Energy Measurement Techniques. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio: Flight Accessories Laboratory, Aeronautical Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command. Search this book on
- ↑ US 3334217, Donald B. Bickler, "Simulation of solar radiation", issued 1967-08-08
- ↑ "Service Awards" (PDF). Universe. Vol. 36 no. 3. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 2006-02-10. p. 2.
- ↑ "Retirees" (PDF). Universe. Vol. 47 no. 11. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. November 2017. p. 7.
- ↑ Goldsmith, J. V.; Bickler, D. B. (1978). "LSA Project: technology development update". U.S. Department of Energy (via OSTI). doi:10.2172/6147246.
- ↑ Chamberlain, Robert G. (1979-01-15). A Normative Price for a Manufactured Product: The SAMICS Methodology, Volume II: Analysis (PDF) (Report). Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Shirley, Donna L. (1998). Managing Martians: The Extraordinary Voyage of the Mars Pathfinder Mission. Broadway Books. pp. 115–117. Search this book on
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Mishkin, Raymond (2006). Sojourner: An Insider's View of the Mars Pathfinder Mission. pp. 15, 21, 58. Search this book on
- ↑ "Articulated suspension system – US4840394A". Google Patents.
- ↑ Volpe, Richard; Balaram, J.; Ohm, Timothy R.; Ivlev, Robert (1997). "Rocky 7: a next generation Mars rover prototype". Advanced Robotics. 11 (4): 341–358. doi:10.1163/156855397X00168.
- ↑ Bickler, Donald B. (1990). Computing True Traction Forces on an Eccentrically Loaded Vehicle (SAE Technical Paper). SAE International. doi:10.4271/901657.
- ↑ Bickler, Donald B.; Sword, Lee F.; Lindemann, Randel A. (1994-09-01). "All-Metal Tires". NASA Technical Reports Server.
- ↑ "Honors and Awards" (PDF). Universe. Vol. 28 no. 14. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 1998-07-10. p. 3.
- ↑ "Alumni News: 1950s" (PDF). McCormick School of Engineering Magazine. No. Spring 2008. Northwestern University.
- ↑ "ASME Fellows (all)" (PDF). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- ↑ "Alumni News: 1950s" (PDF). McCormick School of Engineering Magazine. No. Spring 2008. Northwestern University.
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