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Results for “Ranger Telerobotic”

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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7 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Development of an interchangeable end effector mechanism for the Ranger telerobotic vehicle

The Ranger program at the Space Systems Laboratory (SSL) at the University of Maryland is a demonstration of an extremely low cost, space flight experiment. The Ranger vehicle is designed to perform teleoperated spacecraft maintenance. Completing the various tasks included in spacecraft maintenance requires several specific tools. This paper describes the Ranger interchangeable end effector mechanism (IEEM). Its design allows Ranger to change end effectors to utilize the appropriate tool for the various tasks. The Ranger vehicle is designed with four manipulators. A seven degree-of-freedom (DOF) grappling manipulator securely attaches the vehicle to the work site. A 6 DOF camera positioning manipulator allows the operator to position a stereo pair of video cameras for visual feedback. The two remaining manipulators are the 7 DOF dexterous arms. They are the primary means by which Ranger accomplishes its required tasks. At the end of each of these dexterous manipulators is an IEEM. This paper begins with a brief overview of the Space Systems Laboratory and the Ranger program. The constraints leading to the requirements for an IEEM are described. The following section then describes the design strategies and the down selection process resulting in two candidate designs, taper and pneumatic connector type. Next, the leading candidate design is described in detail, followed by a preliminary discussion of failure modes and planned testing. The paper concludes with a brief review and a section discussing future work.

Cohen, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1996

Obstacle Detection for the Ranger Telerobotic Flight Experiment

This paper describes the approach and algorithms developed for model-based obstacle detection and distance computation for the NASA Ranger Telerobotic Flight Experiment. Objects of interest, such as manipulator arms, the Ranger vehicle and solar arrays, are modeled using a small set of component types.

model-based obstacle detection manipulator arms Ra↗
NASA NTRS1992

Development of a low-cost free-flying telerobotic space flight vehicle

Ranger, a low-cost moderate-risk high-return telerobotics flight experiment, is discussed. Range incorporates two manipulators, a grappling arm, and a camera-positioning manipulator all mounted on a free-flying base with limited orbital maneuvering capability. Ranger will provide data on neutral buoyancy simulations, advanced telerobotics control and design, remote maneuvering, human factors involved in ground-based control of space telerobotics, and advanced small spacecraft technology.

Akin, D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Design evolution of a telerobotic servicer through neutral buoyancy simulation

This paper briefly recounts the history of telerobotic vehicles in the Space Systems Laboratory. Based on this overview, the design of two vehicles are examined in depth, and directly compared. The Beam Assembly Teleoperator was the first true telerobot designed be the Space Systems Laboratory, and has been used extensively for six years. Ranger is the newest telerobot of the SSL, and is currently under development for operational testing in the summer of 1992. The primary focus of this paper is to compare and contrast the design details of these two telerobots, and to examine in some detail the evolution of design knowledge on some telerobots gained over the years of neutral buoyancy testing in the SSL.

Akin, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Manipulator design and development for the Ranger satellite servicing vehicle

The Ranger program is a planned series of low cost telerobotics flight experiments, based on the use of Pegasus launch vehicles. As the first step towards this goal, the Space Systems Lab was developing a neutral buoyancy version of Ranger for use in design verification and operations testing. The design approach and results of the Ranger manipulator development program is related. Ranger is designed to incorporate four appendages: a pair of dexterous, seven degree of freedom manipulators for general manipulation; a six DOF grappling arm for securing the vehicle to the local work site; and a five DOF positioning manipulator for the stereo camera pair that provide feedback to the remote operator. Each of these manipulators incorporate unique approaches to satisfying design requirements. The numerical and operational requirements are given for Ranger manipulators, and the evolution is discussed of the differing design approaches based on similarities and differences in the requirements. Testing results for individual joints and manipulator assemblies are presented, followed by initial results of operational testing on satellite servicing tasks with the integrated Ranger neutral buoyancy vehicle.

Howard, Russell D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Distributed communications and control network for robotic mining

The application of robotics to coal mining machines is one approach pursued to increase productivity while providing enhanced safety for the coal miner. Toward that end, a network composed of microcontrollers, computers, expert systems, real time operating systems, and a variety of program languages are being integrated that will act as the backbone for intelligent machine operation. Actual mining machines, including a few customized ones, have been given telerobotic semiautonomous capabilities by applying the described network. Control devices, intelligent sensors and computers onboard these machines are showing promise of achieving improved mining productivity and safety benefits. Current research using these machines involves navigation, multiple machine interaction, machine diagnostics, mineral detection, and graphical machine representation. Guidance sensors and systems employed include: sonar, laser rangers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, clinometers, and accelerometers. Information on the network of hardware/software and its implementation on mining machines are presented. Anticipated coal production operations using the network are discussed. A parallelism is also drawn between the direction of present day underground coal mining research to how the lunar soil (regolith) may be mined. A conceptual lunar mining operation that employs a distributed communication and control network is detailed.

Schiffbauer, William H.↗