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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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NASA NTRS2004

Human-Robot Planetary Exploration Teams

The EVA Robotic Assistant (ERA) project at NASA Johnson Space Center studies human-robot interaction and robotic assistance for future human planetary exploration. Over the past four years, the ERA project has been performing field tests with one or more four-wheeled robotic platforms and one or more space-suited humans. These tests have provided experience in how robots can assist humans, how robots and humans can communicate in remote environments, and what combination of humans and robots works best for different scenarios. The most efficient way to understand what tasks human explorers will actually perform, and how robots can best assist them, is to have human explorers and scientists go and explore in an outdoor, planetary-relevant environment, with robots to demonstrate what they are capable of, and roboticists to observe the results. It can be difficult to have a human expert itemize all the needed tasks required for exploration while sitting in a lab: humans do not always remember all the details, and experts in one arena may not even recognize that the lower level tasks they take for granted may be essential for a roboticist to know about. Field tests thus create conditions that more accurately reveal missing components and invalid assumptions, as well as allow tests and comparisons of new approaches and demonstrations of working systems. We have performed field tests in our local rock yard, in several locations in the Arizona desert, and in the Utah desert. We have tested multiple exploration scenarios, such as geological traverses, cable or solar panel deployments, and science instrument deployments. The configuration of our robot can be changed, based on what equipment is needed for a given scenario, and the sensor mast can even be placed on one of two robot bases, each with different motion capabilities. The software architecture of our robot is also designed to be as modular as possible, to allow for hardware and configuration changes. Two focus areas of our research are safety and crew time efficiency. For safety, our work involves enabling humans to reliably communicate with a robot while moving in the same workspace, and enabling robots to monitor and advise humans of potential problems. Voice, gesture, remote computer control, and enhanced robot intelligence are methods we are studying. For crew time efficiency, we are investigating the effects of assigning different roles to humans and robots in collaborative exploration scenarios.

Tyree, Kimberly↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Need for Analogue Missions in Scientific Human and Robotic Planetary Exploration

With the increasing challenges of planetary missions, and especially with the prospect of human exploration of the moon and Mars, the need for earth-based mission simulations has never been greater. The current focus on science as a major driver for planetary exploration introduces new constraints in mission design, planning, operations, and technology development. Analogue missions can be designed to address critical new integration issues arising from the new science-driven exploration paradigm. This next step builds on existing field studies and technology development at analogue sites, providing engineering, programmatic, and scientific lessons-learned in relatively low-cost and low-risk environments. One of the most important outstanding questions in planetary exploration is how to optimize the human and robotic interaction to achieve maximum science return with minimum cost and risk. To answer this question, researchers are faced with the task of defining scientific return and devising ways of measuring the benefit of scientific planetary exploration to humanity. Earth-based and spacebased analogue missions are uniquely suited to answer this question. Moreover, they represent the only means for integrating science operations, mission operations, crew training, technology development, psychology and human factors, and all other mission elements prior to final mission design and launch. Eventually, success in future planetary exploration will depend on our ability to prepare adequately for missions, requiring improved quality and quantity of analogue activities. This effort demands more than simply developing new technologies needed for future missions and increasing our scientific understanding of our destinations. It requires a systematic approach to the identification and evaluation of the categories of analogue activities. This paper presents one possible approach to the classification and design of analogue missions based on their degree of fidelity in ten key areas. Various case studies are discussed to illustrate the approach.

Snook, K. J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Space Networking Demonstrated for Distributed Human-Robotic Planetary Exploration

Communications and networking experts from the NASA Glenn Research Center designed and implemented an innovative communications infrastructure for a simulated human-robotic planetary mission. The mission, which was executed in the Arizona desert during the first 2 weeks of September 2002, involved a diverse team of researchers from several NASA centers and academic institutions.

Bizon, Thomas P.↗
NASA NTRS1994

VEVI: A Virtual Reality Tool For Robotic Planetary Explorations

The Virtual Environment Vehicle Interface (VEVI), developed by the NASA Ames Research Center's Intelligent Mechanisms Group, is a modular operator interface for direct teleoperation and supervisory control of robotic vehicles. Virtual environments enable the efficient display and visualization of complex data. This characteristic allows operators to perceive and control complex systems in a natural fashion, utilizing the highly-evolved human sensory system. VEVI utilizes real-time, interactive, 3D graphics and position / orientation sensors to produce a range of interface modalities from the flat panel (windowed or stereoscopic) screen displays to head mounted/head-tracking stereo displays. The interface provides generic video control capability and has been used to control wheeled, legged, air bearing, and underwater vehicles in a variety of different environments. VEVI was designed and implemented to be modular, distributed and easily operated through long-distance communication links, using a communication paradigm called SYNERGY.

Piguet, Laurent↗
NASA NTRS2006

Multimodal Platform Control for Robotic Planetary Exploration Missions

Planetary exploration missions pose unique problems for astronauts seeking to coordinate and control exploration vehicles. These include working in an environment filled with abrasive dust (e.g., regolith compositions), a desire to have effective hands-free communication, and a desire to have effective analog control of robotic platforms or end effectors. Requirements to operate in pressurized suits are particularly problematic due to the increased bulk and stiffness of gloves. As a result, researchers are considering alternative methods to perform fine movement control, for example capitalizing on higher-order voice actuation commands to perform control tasks. This paper presents current research at NASA s Neuro Engineering Laboratory that explores one method-direct bioelectric interpretation-for handling some of these problems. In this type of control system, electromyographic (EMG) signals are used both to facilitate understanding of acoustic speech in pressure-regulated suits 2nd to provide smooth analog control of a robotic platform, all without requiring fine-gained hand movement. This is accomplished through the use of non-invasive silver silver-chloride electrodes located on the forearm, throat, and lower chin, positioned so as to receive electrical activity originating from the muscles during contraction. For direct analog platform control, a small Personal Exploration Rover (PER) built by Carnegie Mellon University Robotics is controlled using forearm contraction duration and magnitudes, measured using several EMG channels. Signal processing is used to translate these signals into directional platform rotation rates and translational velocities. higher order commands were generated by differential contraction patterns called "clench codes."

Jorgensen, Charles↗
NASA NTRS1992

Intelligent robots for planetary exploration and construction

Robots capable of practical applications in planetary exploration and construction will require realtime sensory-interactive goal-directed control systems. A reference model architecture based on the NIST Real-time Control System (RCS) for real-time intelligent control systems is suggested. RCS partitions the control problem into four basic elements: behavior generation (or task decomposition), world modeling, sensory processing, and value judgment. It clusters these elements into computational nodes that have responsibility for specific subsystems, and arranges these nodes in hierarchical layers such that each layer has characteristic functionality and timing. Planetary exploration robots should have mobility systems that can safely maneuver over rough surfaces at high speeds. Walking machines and wheeled vehicles with dynamic suspensions are candidates. The technology of sensing and sensory processing has progressed to the point where real-time autonomous path planning and obstacle avoidance behavior is feasible. Map-based navigation systems will support long-range mobility goals and plans. Planetary construction robots must have high strength-to-weight ratios for lifting and positioning tools and materials in six degrees-of-freedom over large working volumes. A new generation of cable-suspended Stewart platform devices and inflatable structures are suggested for lifting and positioning materials and structures, as well as for excavation, grading, and manipulating a variety of tools and construction machinery.

Albus, James S.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Balloons for planetary exploration

Robotic Balloons (Aerobots) may significantly change the future of in situ planetary exploration. On Mars, the aerobots can fill the gap in resolution/coverage between the orbiters and rovers.

balloons planetary exploration↗
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 NTRS2017

Biologically-Inspired Control for a Planetary Exploration Tensegrity Robot

Tensegrity structures are becoming increasingly popular as mechanical structures for robots. Their inherent compliance makes them extremely robust to environmental disturbances, and their design allows them to have a high strength-to-weight ratio whilst being lightweight compared to traditional robots. For these reasons they would be of interest to the aerospace industry, particularly for planetary exploration. However, being such compliant structures thanks to their network of elastic elements also means that their control is not an easy task. Relying solely on traditional control strategies to generate efficient locomotion would surely be near impossible due to the complex oscillatory motions and nonlinear interactions of its members. The goal of this project was to use bio-inspired control techniques to generate locomotion for a tensegrity icosahedron, namely the SUPERball project of the Intelligent Robotics Group of NASA Ames Research Center.

Leroy, Marc↗
NASA NTRS1998

Rover and Telerobotics Technology Program

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL's) Rover and Telerobotics Technology Program, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), responds to opportunities presented by NASA space missions and systems, and seeds commerical applications of the emerging robotics technology. The scope of the JPL Rover and Telerobotics Technology Program comprises three major segments of activity: NASA robotic systems for planetary exploration, robotic technology and terrestrial spin-offs, and technology for non-NASA sponsors. Significant technical achievements have been reached in each of these areas, including complete telerobotic system prototypes that have built and tested in realistic scenarios relevant to prospective users. In addition, the program has conducted complementary basic research and created innovative technology and terrestrial applications, as well as enabled a variety of commercial spin-offs.

Weisbin, Charles R.↗
NASA NTRS2015

System Design and Locomotion of Superball, an Untethered Tensegrity Robot

The Spherical Underactuated Planetary Exploration Robot ball (SUPERball) is an ongoing project within NASA Ames Research Center's Intelligent Robotics Group and the Dynamic Tensegrity Robotics Lab (DTRL). The current SUPERball is the first full prototype of this tensegrity robot platform, eventually destined for space exploration missions. This work, building on prior published discussions of individual components, presents the fully-constructed robot. Various design improvements are discussed, as well as testing results of the sensors and actuators that illustrate system performance. Basic low-level motor position controls are implemented and validated against sensor data, which show SUPERball to be uniquely suited for highly dynamic state trajectory tracking. Finally, SUPERball is shown in a simple example of locomotion. This implementation of a basic motion primitive shows SUPERball in untethered control.

Tensegrity↗
NASA NTRS1998

Robotic Planetary Surface Exploration

At the present time several spacecraft are exploring the solar system. Cassini, perhaps the last large JPL spacecraft, is on its way to Saturn and its moon Titan. Galileo spacecraft is finishing its exploration of Jupiter and its moons.

robotics surface exploration Mars Cassini↗
NASA NTRS2010

Robotic Follow-Up for Human Exploration

We are studying how "robotic follow-up" can improve future planetary exploration. Robotic follow-up, which we define as augmenting human field work with subsequent robot activity, is a field exploration technique designed to increase human productivity and science return. To better understand the benefits, requirements, limitations and risks associated with this technique, we are conducting analog field tests with human and robot teams at the Haughton Crater impact structure on Devon Island, Canada. In this paper, we discuss the motivation for robotic follow-up, describe the scientific context and system design for our work, and present results and lessons learned from field testing.

Fong, Terrence↗