Venus Sample Return - A Hot Topic
Within th Solar System, Venus presents a set of unique challenges to obtaining samples and returning them to Earth.
Venus Sample Return Solar System samples Venus↗
Engineering topics
Wilcox, B.
Publications and source records attributed to Wilcox, B..
Enabling Operation of VLSI Components and Systems in Extreme Space Environments: The Muses-CN Asteroid Mission Electronics
The goal of this effort is to develop a technique to enable spaceborne characterization of cirrus, meeting key climate modeling and NASA measurement needs.
VSLI Systems Extreme Space Environments↗
Lightweight Rovers for Mars Science Exploration and Sample Return
We report on the development of new mobile robots for Mars exploration missions.
mobile robots 3D sensing robotic sampling planetar↗
NASA Participation in the ISAS Muses C Asteroid Sample Return Mission
NASA and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) have agreed to cooperate on the first mission to collect samples from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth for in-depth study.
asteroid↗
Venus Surface Sample Return: A Weighty High-Pressure Challenge
A mission to return a sample to Earth from the surface of Venus faces a multitude of challenges.
Venus↗
The MUSES-CN Nanorover Mission and Related Technology
Recent advances in microtechnology and mobile robotics have made it feasible to create extremely small automated or remote-controlled vehicles which open new application frontiers.
MUSES-CN Nanorover↗
Sojourner on Mars and Lessons Learned for Future Plantery Rovers
In this paper, the rover navigation performance is analyzed on the basis of received rover telemetry, rover uplink commands and stereo images captured by the lander cameras.
Mars Pathfinder Sojourner microrover↗
NASA ISAS Collaboration on the ISAS MUSES C Asteroid Sample Return Mission
NASA and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) have agreed to cooperate on the first mission to collect samples from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth for in-depth study.
ISAS MUSES C Asteroid Sample Return LIDAR↗
Fast Optical Hazard Detection for Planetary Rovers Using Multiple Spot Laser Triangulation
A new laser-based optical sensor system that provides hazard detection for planetary rovers is presented. It is anticipated that the sensor can support safe travel at speeds up to 6cm/second for large (1m) rovers in full sunlight on Earth or Mars. The system overcomes limitations in an older design that require image differencing ot detect a laser stripe in full sun.
laser based optical sensor system planetary rovers↗
Implications of Martian Rock Distributions on Rover Scaling
This paper discusses some recently published analysis of the rock distribution on Mars and its impact on the scaling of planetary rovers for Mars surface exloration.
hardware sensing control tradeoffs↗
Non-Geometric Hazard Detection for a Mars Microrover
Non-geometric hazards (i.e., those which cannot be characterized solely by their shape, but instead are related to mechanical properties such as strength and friction) may pose a significant risk to planetary rovers. This paper describes a means for an articulated vehicle to detect sinkage and slippage in such material so as to prevent entrapment and to correct for dead-reckoning errors.
hazards↗
The sensing and perception subsystem of the NASA research telerobot
A useful space telerobot for on-orbit assembly, maintenance, and repair tasks must have a sensing and perception subsystem which can provide the locations, orientations, and velocities of all relevant objects in the work environment. This function must be accomplished with sufficient speed and accuracy to permit effective grappling and manipulation. Appropriate symbolic names must be attached to each object for use by higher-level planning algorithms. Sensor data and inferences must be presented to the remote human operator in a way that is both comprehensible in ensuring safe autonomous operation and useful for direct teleoperation. Research at JPL toward these objectives is described.
Wilcox, B.↗
Manipulator control and mechanization: A telerobot subsystem
The short- and long-term autonomous robot control activities in the Robotics and Teleoperators Research Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are described. This group is one of several involved in robotics and is an integral part of a new NASA robotics initiative called Telerobot program. A description of the architecture, hardware and software, and the research direction in manipulator control is given.
Hayati, S.↗
Convolver for Pipelined-Image Processor
3 x 3 convolver produces weighted sum of nine contiguous picture elements in square. Data processed through convolver at video scanning rate of current raster line. Two previous lines stored in external buffers (N-3)element delays. Specific choice of convolution weights determines whether convolver performs smoothing, spatial-frequency filtering, edge detection, or other forms of image processing.
Wilcox, B.↗
Programable Pipelined-Image Processor
Computer serves as pipelined processor for imagery or other two-dimensional digital data. Processor does feature extraction, smoothing, edge detection, texture measurement, and stereoscoptic area correlation. Also plans routes for obstacle avoidance by robots and solves two-dimensional partial differential equations. Image processor consists of modular units: each includes set of computing elements of types particularly useful in pipelined-image processing. Flexible interconnection scheme used to route data to subsequent stages of pipeline.
Gennery, D. B.↗
Function Generator for Image Processor
Basic elements of function generator are memory chips and interpolator chip, which incorporates multipliers and adders. Memory includes CMOS static random-access devices. 120 ns cycle time of devices allows real-time processing of image data.
Gennery, D. B.↗