M.I.N.G., Mars Investment for a New Generation: Robotic construction of a permanently manned Mars base

A basic procedure for robotically constructing a manned Mars base is outlined. The research procedure was divided into three areas: environment, robotics, and habitat. The base as designed will consist of these components: two power plants, communication facilities, a habitat complex, and a hangar, a garage, recreation and manufacturing facilities. The power plants will be self-contained nuclear fission reactors placed approx. 1 km from the base for safety considerations. The base communication system will use a combination of orbiting satellites and surface relay stations. This system is necessary for robotic contact with Phobos and any future communication requirements. The habitat complex will consist of six self-contained modules: core, biosphere, science, living quarters, galley/storage, and a sick bay which will be brought from Phobos. The complex will be set into an excavated hole and covered with approximately 0.5 m of sandbags to provide radiation protection for the astronauts. The recreation, hangar, garage, and manufacturing facilities will each be transformed from the four one-way landers. The complete complex will be built by autonomous, artificially intelligent robots. Robots incorporated into the design are as follows: Large Modular Construction Robots with detachable arms capable of large scale construction activities; Small Maneuverable Robotic Servicers capable of performing delicate tasks normally requiring a suited astronaut; and a trailer vehicle with modular type attachments to complete specific tasks; and finally, Mobile Autonomous Rechargeable Transporters capable of transferring air and water from the manufacturing facility to the habitat complex

ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN ROMANIA

Year 2014 was considered by NASA and NOAA hottest year in history. Combined temperature of the atmosphere and oceans has increased overall by 0.68 degrees Celsius, and the devastating effects of climate changes produced irreversible consequences on the sustainability of the planet earth. Increasing the frequency, intensity and complexity of their manifestation caused initiation and development of global policies aimed at mitigating climate change priority, reducing the risk of natural disasters or anthropological costs and negative effects to society and the environment. In order to fulfill the responsibilities assumed by Romania as a member of international bodies is necessary to search and apply new solutions as revolutionary and effective, especially autonomous enabling technology development and improvement of emergency intervention and replacement of emergency autonomous robotic systems. Autonomous robotic systems allow execution of prevention and management of emergencies in areas difficult to reach, hostile life and result in increasing their efficiency

Robotic equipment carrying RN detectors: requirements and capabilities for testing

77 pags., 32 figs., 5 tabs.-- ERNCIP Radiological and Nuclear Threats to Critical Infrastructure Thematic Group . -- This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) . -- JRC128728 . -- EUR 31044 ENThe research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union as part of the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection (ERNCIP) projec

An overview of robotics and autonomous systems for harsh environments

Across a wide range of industries and applications, robotics and autonomous systems can fulfil the crucial and challenging tasks such as inspection, exploration, monitoring, drilling, sampling and mapping in areas of scientific discovery, disaster prevention, human rescue and infrastructure management, etc. However, in many situations, the associated environment is either too dangerous or inaccessible to humans. Hence, a wide range of robots have been developed and deployed to replace or aid humans in these activities. A look at these harsh environment applications of robotics demonstrate the diversity of technologies developed. This paper reviews some key application areas of robotics that involve interactions with harsh environments (such as search and rescue, space exploration, and deep-sea operations), gives an overview of the developed technologies and provides a discussion of the key trends and future directions common to many of these areas

A lunar base reference mission for the phased implementation of bioregenerative life support system components

Previous design efforts of a cost effective and reliable regenerative life support system (RLSS) provided the foundation for the characterization of organisms or 'biological processors' in engineering terms and a methodology was developed for their integration into an engineered ecological LSS in order to minimize the mass flow imbalances between consumers and producers. These techniques for the design and the evaluation of bioregenerative LSS have now been integrated into a lunar base reference mission, emphasizing the phased implementation of components of such a BLSS. In parallel, a designers handbook was compiled from knowledge and experience gained during past design projects to aid in the design and planning of future space missions requiring advanced RLSS technologies. The lunar base reference mission addresses in particular the phased implementation and integration of BLS parts and includes the resulting infrastructure burdens and needs such as mass, power, volume, and structural requirements of the LSS. Also, operational aspects such as manpower requirements and the possible need and application of 'robotics' were addressed

Indonesia’s Digital Infrastructures for Nuclear Energy Policy Transparency

In increasingly digitized and interconnected nations digital infrastructures (DIs) as a strategic asset present not only great promise but also great perils. There is a lack of DI research attention in the e-government field. This paper examines DIs for nuclear energy policy transparency towards public safety and environmental safety at Indonesia’s government agency, BATAN, responsible for nuclear policy compliance, experimental nuclear reactors operation, and radiation risk management. Using website and content analysis we identified salient dimensions of extant DIs including sensors embedded in various environment monitoring systems and real-time radiation dose-related data and radiation warning systems. Despite the public opinion polls BATAN conducts annually on citizens’ acceptance of using commercial nuclear power plants for electricity, however, other salient dimensions found in the literature such as website and social media for active forms of citizen engagement and policy transparency on the potential radiation hazards are still lacking at the agency level

Improving Emergency Response and Human-Robotic Performance

Preparedness for chemical, biological, and radiological/nuclear incidents at nuclear power plants (NPPs) includes the deployment of well trained emergency response teams. While teams are expected to do well, data from other domains suggests that the timeliness and accuracy associated with incident response can be improved through collaborative human-robotic interaction. Many incident response scenarios call for multiple, complex procedure-based activities performed by personnel wearing cumbersome personal protective equipment (PPE) and operating under high levels of stress and workload. While robotic assistance is postulated to reduce workload and exposure, limitations associated with communications and the robot’s ability to act independently have served to limit reliability and reduce our potential to exploit human –robotic interaction and efficacy of response. Recent work at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on expanding robot capability has the potential to improve human-system response during disaster management and recovery. Specifically, increasing the range of higher level robot behaviors such as autonomous navigation and mapping, evolving new abstractions for sensor and control data, and developing metaphors for operator control have the potential to improve state-of-the-art in incident response. This paper discusses these issues and reports on experiments underway intelligence residing on the robot to enhance emergency response