Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Nunamaker, Robert R..
The study of automation and robotics for the Space Station by the Advanced Technology Advisory Committee is surveyed. The formation of the committee and the methodology for the Space Station automation study are discussed. The committee's recommendations for automation and robotics research and development are listed.
The reports of a committee established by Congress to identify specific systems of the Space Station which would advance automation and robotics technologies are reviewed. The history of the committee, its relation to NASA, and the reports which it has released are discussed. The committee's reports recommend the widespread use of automation and robotics for the Space Station, a program for technology development and transfer between industries and research and development communities, and the planned use of robots to service and repair satellites and their payloads which are accessible from the Space Station.
This paper describes current simulation research activities carried out at the Langley Research Center in the areas of remotely controlled operations, task performance, and analytical operations, along with early simulators developed at the center. Special attention is given to the center's current space simulation capabilities which are applicable to manned space operation studies, including the Advanced Concepts Simulator (ACS) and a computer-generated imagery (CGI). The ACS was designed to represent an aircraft cockpit for flight operations in the 1990s but will be also suitable for simulating a variety of astronaut work station applications. The CGI, scheduled for delivery in 1989, will be able to provide out-the-window scenes representative of many operational tasks from rendezvous and docking/berthing to control of telerobotic devices.