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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mass Inferencing Model Creation and Deployment to the RASSOR Lunar Excavation Robot

The Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) Excavator is a mobile robotic bucket-drum excavator platform with a unique space regolith excavation capability. The Intelligent Capabilities Enhanced RASSOR research project developed functionality for estimating the quantity of regolith mass ingested during RASSOR operation, enhancing RASSOR’s ability to successfully complete In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) missions. To teleoperate or run autonomously, it is crucial for the amount of regolith mass ingested to be available as a system state for efficient operation. For example, during autonomous operation, RASSOR should navigate and move to a processing plant to offload the collected regolith when the drums are full; without knowledge of the total mass in the drums, this type of high-level planning is not possible. Three distinct modeling approaches were employed in developing a mass inferencing approach that could work on RASSOR, none of which require modification to the hardware. All take in system states, such as arm/drum motor positions, velocities, currents, voltages, and robot pose, and output a mass prediction for each set of the robot’s bucket drums. The developed models run in real-time, outputting predictions for the front drum mass, rear drum mass, timestamp of the last prediction, and total drum mass (sum of front and rear) in RASSOR’s drums. Models deployed to the hardware have low error (<7.5% mean error over the mass range, and <2.6% mean error when drums are more than half full) when making predictions in real-time. Our modeling approach can be adapted to use lunar excavation data to create models that are reflective of RASSOR’s dynamics when operating on the lunar surface. The results of this work are promising and show that models can be developed to accurately estimate excavated regolith mass.

bucket drum excavators↗
NASA NTRS2020

Planning and Optimization for Multi-robot Planetary Cave Exploration under Intermittent Connectivity Constraints

Exploring subsurface structures with autonomous robots is of growing interest in the context of planetary caves studies. Communication between robots in these environments is severely degraded which complicates coordination and information distribution. In this paper we focus on planning for mobility and communication in a cave exploration scenario where the situational awareness of a static base station is critical. We propose a notion of information-consistency where a plan itself is part of the information to be shared between robots, and propose a method for generating information-consistent plans. We discuss in detail how the resulting plan can be robustly implemented with minimal communication through local mission executives that run on individual robots. We describe preliminary results on the performance of the planning algorithm and integration of the local mission executives in a high-fidelity simulation environment.

Murray, Richard M.↗
NASA NTRS2021

InSight Robotic Arm Testing Activities for HP3 Mole Anomaly Recovery on Mars

The InSight lander’s Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3 ) was deployed on Mars in February 2019 and began attempting to penetrate to its target depth range of 3-5 meters shortly thereafter. However, the mole’s downward progress stopped after only 35 cm of penetration. In response, the project convened an Anomaly Response Team (ART) and since then has been attempting to diagnose the problem and assist the mole using the tools available on Mars. The key asset used in this effort has been the Instrument Deployment System (IDS), which includes two cameras and a robotic Instrument Deployment Arm (IDA). Since the IDS was originally intended only to deploy InSight’s primary instruments to the Martian surface, new testbed setups, experiments, and operational protocols (e.g., command sequences) were required and had to be developed on a short timeline. The HP3 Mole ART first focused on gathering all observable data on Mars about the state of the mole and Support Structure Assembly (SSA), as well as the physical properties of the Martian regolith. This included using the robotic arm to point the IDC (Instrument Deployment Camera) at the SSA during diagnostic hammering attempts to observe motion of the SSA and science tether. Images taken during these attempts revealed some motion of the SSA, but no apparent change in mole depth. At JPL, the IDS and Testbed teams re-created the hardware configuration on Mars based on limited knowledge of the mole’s state. They devised and tested techniques to use the robotic arm and cameras to accomplish previously untested activities on Mars, including imaging the HP3 , using the IDA to interact with the terrain, and using the IDA to move the SSA away from the partially-embedded mole. The team executed the more promising techniques on Mars. After diagnostic hammering on Mars, the team decided to move the SSA to gain visibility of the mole’s configuration and access to the soil around the mole. After developing the technique and practicing the maneuver in the InSight testbed, the team lifted the SSA on Mars and placed it behind the mole. This revealed a pit surrounding the now exposed mole, observations of which provided essential clues for determining the root cause of the mole’s lack of progress. The IDS and Testbed teams altered the testbed to match the situation on Mars. They devised IDA techniques to determine the Martian soil properties and assist the mole’s descent. They tested these techniques in the testbed and executed the more promising ones on Mars. These include using the robotic arm to alter the regolith near the mole and to push on the mole while it hammers. This paper discusses the anomaly resolution testing in the testbed at JPL, describes how the IDS team prepared for the anomaly recovery activities on Mars, and provides preliminary results of the efforts to assist the HP3 mole on Mars.

Kim, Junggon↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS): Robotically Assembled Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure

Introduction: The Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) project at NASA Ames Research Center is developing autonomous infrastructure, instrumentation, and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing capabilities for next generation exploration and science missions, with a goal to change the cost scaling of these missions relative to mission size and duration. Using a building-block approach with a 'kit of parts' composed of ultra-light, high-performance mechanical metamaterials, simplified robots leverage the period environment to achieve high levels of autonomy and reliability for in-space and surface assembly of large-scale apertures, solar-arrays, towers, habitats, and other infrastructure. Robots and structure break down into a compact form factor for launch. By leveraging economies of scale and achieving high-packing ratios, ARMADAS technology can revolutionize possible space missions by breaking the tyranny of the launch shroud, decreasing development times, decreasing mission costs for transformative science capability, and providing a scalable and versatile space infrastructure strategy. Capabilities: To date, the ARMADAS project has demonstrated autonomous assembly of large numbers of structural modules into a meters-scale structure in an earth gravity environment. The mechanical performance is on par with conventional space structures, at a fraction of the cost. By using highly repeatable manufacturing processes (injection molding carbon fiber reinforced space-rated polymers), the structures are both cost effective and highly precise. The ARAMADAS system carefully designs parts for high-precision assembly–the simple and cost-effective robots build structures much larger and more precise than themselves. While maintaining structural efficiency, the ARMADAS system encompasses many functional module types, including for solar power, comm/power routing, etc., that will enable entire infrastructure systems to be engineered and autonomously assembled with modular parts. With well-defined interfaces, custom instrumentation modules can easily be added to fit many mission objectives. Lunar Infrastructure Vision: At the LSIC spring meeting, ARMADAS will present a vision for a general-purpose lunar construction kit capable of meeting a wide variety of lunar surface infrastructure needs (Figure 1). Investing in an ecosystem of reconfigurable, discretely repairable parts and robots enables systems than can expand their capability, reconfigure to meet emergency or unforeseen needs, self-repair and reduce spare-part needs. With a small set of parts (module types), a wide variety of infrastructure needs can be met. Footing modules will allow infrastructure construction at locations with no surface preparation. Footer, primary structure, and rail modules can create reconfigurable rail systems. These rail systems can be used to reduce cost-of-transport between frequently accessed sites, provide dust mitigation, and convey power and communications. High-performance structure modules combined with power-routing and solar modules can create tall towers for power and communication. Concepts for habitats and garages encompass a structure to support regolith cover for a pre-integrated module to an entirely ARMADAS system-based structure. This system can be leveraged by many in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies to simplify processes and augment capabilities.

C. E. Gregg↗
NASA NTRS2021

ReQuBiS - Reconfigurable Quadrupedal-Bipedal Snake Robots

Self-assembling and self-reconfiguring robots have the ability to adapt to different or varying environments and carry out complex tasks. Robots competent of performing serpentine gaits and transforming into legged systems impart a wide range of locomotion schemes. Most of the reconfigurable robotic solutions consist of a large number of complicated mechanisms to detach and re-attach at different places making the system fragile and increase its size, weight and power (SWaP). We propose Reconfigurable Quadrupedal-Bipedal Snake Robots (ReQuBiS) to easily transform into these forms. Experimental results demonstrate the mobility in snake, quadruped and biped modes and transition between them with minimal change in modules.

Chiddarwar, Shital↗
NASA NTRS2022

How do we get robots to take self-portraits on Mars? – Perseverance-Ingenuity and Curiosity selfies

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater,Mars, on 18 February 2021. It carried with it a technologydemonstration, the Ingenuity helicopter, which hasdemonstrated the first controlled, powered flight on anotherplanet. This paper describes how an iconic, April 2021 imageof the Perseverance rover with the Ingenuity helicopter wasdesigned and executed as the rover was getting ready todeploy the helicopter. WATSON is a camera mounted at theend of the rover’s robotic arm and was used to acquire theself-portrait. WATSON is designed to take close up picturesof rocks and regolith on Mars but can also provide views ofthe terrain. A single image covers a small portion of thescene. In order to a create a mosaic covering the full roverand helicopter, 62 WATSON images were acquired. To allowthe images to be mosaicked together, the camera needs to bekept in the same spot. The robotic arm has five degrees offreedom for motion; small changes in orientation can requiresignificant repositioning of the robotic arm joints. Todocument this, a movie of the arm motion was acquired bythe rover’s mast-mounted left navigation camera pointed atthe WATSON and robotic arm while it was simultaneouslymoving to acquire the selfie. For the first time, we alsocaptured the sound of the arm motion as it was acquiring theselfie. In the case of the Perseverance selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, we also had to think about how toposition the rover with respect to the helicopter and fit theselfie acquisition into the helicopter prime mission timeline.This paper also describes the history of NASA Mars roverselfies.

Beegle, Luther↗
DOE OSTI2026

Modular Accelerator Robotics Framework Implementation For Accelerator Inspection

Accelerator tunnels, such as the ones at Fermilab, remain highly radioactive after beam shutoff due to induced radiation from the beam. This residual radiation creates a hazardous environment for manual inspection and repair of beamline components. To minimize worker radiation dose and reduce beam downtime, the AD Robotics Initiative previously built a fleet of low-cost custom mobile robots. However, the custom Python sockets server-client architecture lacked standardization, causing development delays and complicating the integration of new sensors and actuators. Here, we developed a modular system using ROS2 and Docker to standardize the teleoperation and control interfaces. This system was validated by implementing a teleoperation controller with real-time, low-latency, and high-definition video feedback. The aim of this framework is for a new feature or even a robot to be integrated into the system simply by documenting the hardware configuration. Current integration of LiDAR, Odometry, and Depth Cameras provides the foundation for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) tasks. Finally, future work involves integration into the accelerator control system and the attachment of a 6 degree-of-freedom robotic arm for telemanipulation.

Rayyan Khana, M. [Unlisted, US, IL] (ORCID:0009000↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design of robot grippers for binder jet products handling

Dimension accuracy, damage minimization, and defect detection are essential in manufacturing processes, especially additive manufacturing. These types of challenges may arise either during the manufacture of a product or its use. The repeatability of the process is vital in additive manufacturing systems. However, human users may lose concentration and, thus, would be a great alternative as an assistant. Depending on the nature of work, a robot’s fingers might vary, for example, mechanical, electrical, vacuum, two-fingers, and three-fingers. In addition, the end effector plays a vital role in picking up an object in the advanced manufacturing process. However, inbuilt robotic fingers may not be appropriate in different production environments. In this research presented here considering metal binder jet additive manufacturing, the two-finger end- effectors are proposed design, analysis, and experiment to pick up an object after completing the production process from a specific location. The final designs were further printed by using a 3D metal printer and installed in the existing robotic systems. These new designs are used successfully to hold the object from the specific location by reducing the contact force that was not possible with the previously installed end effector's finger. In addition, a numerical study was conducted in order to compare the flowability of the geometric shape of finger's free areas.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1997

Health Care Robotics: A Progress Report

This paper describes the approach followed in the design of a service robot for health care applications. Under the auspices of the NASA Technology Transfer program, a partnership was established between JPL and RWI, a manufacturer of mobile robots, to design and evaluate a mobile robot for health care assistance to the elderly and the handicapped. The main emphasis of the first phase of the project is on the development on a multi-modal operator interface and its evaluation by health care professionals and users. This paper describes the architecture of the system, the evaluation method used, and some preliminary results of the user evaluation.

handicapped mobile robots↗
NASA NTRS2000

MVACS Robotic Arm

The primary purpose of the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) Robotic Arm is to support to the other MVACS science instruments by digging trenches in the Martian soil; acquiring and dumping soil samples into the thermal evolved gas analyzer (TEGA); positioning the Soil Temperature Probe (STP) in the soil: positioning the Robotic Arm Air Temperature Sensor (RAATS) at various heights above the surface, and positioning the Robotic Arm Camera (RAC) for taking images of the surface, trench, soil samples, magnetic targets and other objects of scientific interest within its workspace.

robotics robotic arm sampling MVACS↗
NASA NTRS2014

Vision Based Autonomous Robotic Control for Advanced Inspection and Repair

The advanced inspection system is an autonomous control and analysis system that improves the inspection and remediation operations for ground and surface systems. It uses optical imaging technology with intelligent computer vision algorithms to analyze physical features of the real-world environment to make decisions and learn from experience. The advanced inspection system plans to control a robotic manipulator arm, an unmanned ground vehicle and cameras remotely, automatically and autonomously. There are many computer vision, image processing and machine learning techniques available as open source for using vision as a sensory feedback in decision-making and autonomous robotic movement. My responsibilities for the advanced inspection system are to create a software architecture that integrates and provides a framework for all the different subsystem components; identify open-source algorithms and techniques; and integrate robot hardware.

sensory feedback↗
NASA NTRS2015

Human-Robot Teams for Unknown and Uncertain Environments

Man-robot interaction is the study of interactions between humans and robots. It is often referred as HRI by researchers. Human-robot interaction is a multidisciplinary field with contributions from human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence.

exploration↗
NASA NTRS2015

NASA, Engineering, and Swarming Robots

This presentation is an introduction to NASA, to science and engineering, to biologically inspired robotics, and to the Swarmie ant-inspired robot project at KSC. This presentation is geared towards elementary school students, middle school students, and also high school students. This presentation is suitable for use in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) outreach events. The first use of this presentation will be on Oct 28, 2015 at Madison Middle School in Titusville, Florida where the author has been asked by the NASA-KSC Speakers Bureau to speak to the students about the Swarmie robots.

robotic exploration↗
NASA NTRS1995

Mars Lander Robotics and Machine Vision Capabilities for in situ Planetary Science

We overview our recent progress in lander-based robotics for Mars planetary science. Utilizing a 1:1 scale laboratory replica of the NASA Mars Surveyor '98 mission, JPL engineers and Mars sciencce colleagues have demonstrated approaches to lander science functions such as robotic sample acquisiiton and deposition, end-effector based microscopic viewing, hand-carried science instrument data collection, and science instrument emplacement by a robot.

robotics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Robotic automation of maintenance work in nuclear power plants a cross-sector survey and roadmap

Nuclear power plants face increasing cost pressures, workforce constraints (aging workforce and skilled labor shortages), and safety requirements that are accelerating interest in robotic systems for inspection and maintenance. We conducted semi-structured interviews with personnel from seven U.S. nuclear utilities and compared deployment models, operational use cases, and integration practices with those reported by participants in the oil, gas, and petrochemical sector. In nuclear plants, robotic use remains concentrated in inspection—particularly indoor unmanned aerial vehicles and submersible remotely operated vehicles—with limited application to physical maintenance tasks. Reported near-term value includes reduced radiological and industrial risk, reduced outage labor, and improved data for planning and condition assessment. Key barriers include integration and data-interoperability constraints, operator qualification requirements, cybersecurity review burden, and difficulty demonstrating reliability in plant-representative environments. Cross-sector benchmarking highlights organizational and deployment practices that may help nuclear plants scale from pilots to routine use. We propose a deployment-oriented roadmap emphasizing modular payload strategies, representative qualification pathways and testing environments, and improved data governance to support safe and economically justified expansion of robotics in operating nuclear power plants.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sim2Real Autonomous Robotic Exploration [Poster]

Autonomous robots offer promising solutions for exploration in environments that are inaccessible or hazardous to humans. Despite this, physical training of such robots is often constrained by safety risks, high cost or limited accessibility. This project presents an end-to-end simulation to reality pipeline leveraging Nvidia Isaac Sim and Boston Dynamics' Spot to enable autonomous navigation in indoor environments. A reinforcement learning policy is first trained using Nvidia Isaac Lab to establish Spot's locomotion pattern. Virtual LiDAR sensors are then integrated to perform SLAM-based navigation using simulated odometry. Finally, the simulated navigation scheme is transferred to a physical Spot robot to inspect and record images of a real-world room by repeating the learnt trajectory. The proposed framework highlights the potential of scalable training in simulation and reliable deployment in physical environments. Future directions include dynamic trajectory generation in unseen and challenging environments and integration of environmental sensing like temperature, radiation or humidity via sensor and material simulation.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Development of a Multi-Robot System for Autonomous Inspection of Nuclear Waste Tank Pits

This paper introduces the overall design plan, development timeline, and preliminary progress of the Autonomous Pit Exploration System project. This project aims to develop an advanced multi-robot system for the efficient inspection of nuclear waste-storage tank pits. The project is structured into three phases: Phase 1 involves data collection and interface definition in collaboration with Hanford Site experts and university partners, focusing on tank riser geometry and hardware solutions. Phase 2 includes the selection of sensors and robot components, detailed mechanical design, and prototyping. Phase 3 integrates all components into a cohesive system managed by a master control package which also incorporates digital twin and surrogate models, and culminates in comprehensive testing and validation at a simulated tank pit at the Idaho National Laboratory. Additionally, the system’s communication design ensures coordinated operation through shared data, power, and control signals. For transportation and deployment, an electric vehicle (EV) is chosen to support the system for a full 10 h shift with better regulatory compliance for field deployment. A telescopic arm design is selected for its simple configuration and superior reach capability and controllability. Preliminary testing utilizes an educational robot to demonstrate the feasibility of splitting computational tasks between edge and cloud computers. Successful simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) tasks validate our distributed computing approach. More design considerations are also discussed, including radiation hardness assurance, SLAM performance, software transferability, and digital twinning strategies.

Nuclear waste management↗
NASA NTRS1989

Advancing automation and robotics technology for the space station Freedom and for the US economy

In April 1985, as required by Public Law 98-371, the NASA Advanced Technology Advisory Committee (ATAC) reported to Congress the results of its studies on advanced automation and robotics technology for use on the Freedom space station. This material was documented in the initial report (NASA Technical Memorandum 87566). A further requirement of the law was that ATAC follow NASA's progress in this area and report to Congress semiannually. This report is the eighth in a series of progress updates and covers the period between October 1, 1988, and March 31, 1989. NASA has accepted the basic recommendations of ATAC for its Space Station Freedom efforts. ATAC and NASA agree that the thrust of Congress is to build an advanced automation and robotics technology base that will support an evolutionary Space Station Freedom program and serve as a highly visible stimulator, affecting the U.S. long-term economy. The progress report identifies the work of NASA and the Freedom study contractors. It also describes research in progress, and it makes assessments of the advancement of automation and robotics technology on the Freedom space station.

Robotics↗