46 research outputs found

    Haptics: Science, Technology, Applications

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    This open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Human Haptic Sensing and Touch Enabled Computer Applications, EuroHaptics 2022, held in Hamburg, Germany, in May 2022. The 36 regular papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 129 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: haptic science; haptic technology; and haptic applications

    Mobile Robots Navigation

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    Mobile robots navigation includes different interrelated activities: (i) perception, as obtaining and interpreting sensory information; (ii) exploration, as the strategy that guides the robot to select the next direction to go; (iii) mapping, involving the construction of a spatial representation by using the sensory information perceived; (iv) localization, as the strategy to estimate the robot position within the spatial map; (v) path planning, as the strategy to find a path towards a goal location being optimal or not; and (vi) path execution, where motor actions are determined and adapted to environmental changes. The book addresses those activities by integrating results from the research work of several authors all over the world. Research cases are documented in 32 chapters organized within 7 categories next described

    ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR MINIMIZING CREW MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS IN SPACE HABITATS

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    Gemstone Team ASTROThe International Space Station (ISS) is crewed continuously by astronauts conducting scientifc research in microgravity. However, their work is not limited to scientifc research alone; in fact, logistics, maintenance, and repair tasks on the ISS require more than 80% of available crew time, severely limiting opportunities for performing scientifc experiments and technological development. NASA is planning a new project known as Gateway (also referred to as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway). This station will orbit the Moon and be uncrewed for 11 months per year. Astronauts will only be present in the outpost for a limited period of time and will not always be available for continuous repairs and maintenance, as is required for Gateway to operate. Therefore, robotic system(s) are necessary to regularly accomplish these tasks both in the absence and presence of astronauts. Throughout this project, Team ASTRO (Assessment of Space Technologies for Robotic Operations) explored the feasibility of integrating dexterous robotic systems in space habitat architectures to perform routine and contingency operational and maintenance tasks. Ultimately, this allows for astronauts, when present, to focus on exploration and scientifc discoveries. The team conducted this research through three approaches: Gateway component analog taskboard development and end e˙ector assessment, Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB) manipulation and logistics, and AprilTag situational awareness simulation development. Based on analyses and experimental results gained from this research, the team found that robotic systems are feasible alternatives for space habitat operation. Team ASTRO also determined that AprilTags can be used for optimization of the Gateway design to facilitate uncrewed operations and robotic servicing to improve crew productivity when present

    New frontiers in ocean exploration: the E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2019 field season

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    © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Raineault, N.A., and J. Flanders, eds. (2020). New frontiers in ocean exploration: The E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2019 field season. Oceanography 33(1), supplement, 122 pp., https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2020.supplement.01.New Frontiers in Ocean Exploration: The E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2019 Field Season is the tenth consecutive supplement on ocean exploration to accompany Oceanography. These booklets provide details about the innovative technologies deployed to investigate the seafloor and water column and explain how telepresence can both convey the excitement of ocean exploration to global audiences and allow scientists as well as the public on shore to participate in expeditions in real time. The supplements also describe the variety of educational programs the Ocean Exploration Trust, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute support in conjunction with schools, museums, visitors centers, and aquariums, as well as internships that bring high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, teachers, and artists on board ships. Through these supplements, we have explored the geology, chemistry, biology, and archaeology of parts of the global ocean and seas. We hope you enjoy this booklet and share it widely.Support for this publication is provided by the Ocean Exploration Trust, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute

    Design and Operational Elements of the Robotic Subsystem for the e.deorbit Debris Removal Mission

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    This paper presents a robotic capture concept that was developed as part of the e.deorbit study by ESA. The defective and tumbling satellite ENVISAT was chosen as a potential target to be captured, stabilized, and subsequently de-orbited in a controlled manner. A robotic capture concept was developed that is based on a chaser satellite equipped with a seven degrees-of-freedom dexterous robotic manipulator, holding a dedicated linear two-bracket gripper. The satellite is also equipped with a clamping mechanism for achieving a stiff fixation with the grasped target, following their combined satellite-stack de-tumbling and prior to the execution of the de-orbit maneuver. Driving elements of the robotic design, operations and control are described and analyzed. These include pre and post-capture operations, the task-specific kinematics of the manipulator, the intrinsic mechanical arm flexibility and its effect on the arm's positioning accuracy, visual tracking, as well as the interaction between the manipulator controller and that of the chaser satellite. The kinematics analysis yielded robust reachability of the grasp point. The effects of intrinsic arm flexibility turned out to be noticeable but also effectively scalable through robot joint speed adaption throughout the maneuvers. During most of the critical robot arm operations, the internal robot joint torques are shown to be within the design limits. These limits are only reached for a limiting scenario of tumbling motion of ENVISAT, consisting of an initial pure spin of 5 deg/s about its unstable intermediate axis of inertia. The computer vision performance was found to be satisfactory with respect to positioning accuracy requirements. Further developments are necessary and are being pursued to meet the stringent mission-related robustness requirements. Overall, the analyses conducted in this study showed that the capture and de-orbiting of ENVISAT using the proposed robotic concept is feasible with respect to relevant mission requirements and for most of the operational scenarios considered. Future work aims at developing a combined chaser-robot system controller. This will include a visual servo to minimize the positioning errors during the contact phases of the mission (grasping and clamping). Further validation of the visual tracking in orbital lighting conditions will be pursued

    Planetary Science Vision 2050 Workshop : February 27–28 and March 1, 2017, Washington, DC

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    This workshop is meant to provide NASA’s Planetary Science Division with a very long-range vision of what planetary science may look like in the future.Organizer, Lunar and Planetary Institute ; Conveners, James Green, NASA Planetary Science Division, Doris Daou, NASA Planetary Science Division ; Science Organizing Committee, Stephen Mackwell, Universities Space Research Association [and 14 others]PARTIAL CONTENTS: Exploration Missions to the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud--Future Mercury Exploration: Unique Science Opportunities from Our Solar System’s Innermost Planet--A Vision for Ice Giant Exploration--BAOBAB (Big and Outrageously Bold Asteroid Belt) Project--Asteroid Studies: A 35-Year Forecast--Sampling the Solar System: The Next Level of Understanding--A Ground Truth-Based Approach to Future Solar System Origins Research--Isotope Geochemistry for Comparative Planetology of Exoplanets--The Moon as a Laboratory for Biological Contamination Research--“Be Careful What You Wish For:” The Scientific, Practical, and Cultural Implications of Discovering Life in Our Solar System--The Importance of Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) Analysis and Imaging to the Search for Life on the Ocean Worlds--Follow the (Outer Solar System) Water: Program Options to Explore Ocean Worlds--Analogies Among Current and Future Life Detection Missions and the Pharmaceutical/ Biomedical Industries--On Neuromorphic Architectures for Efficient, Robust, and Adaptable Autonomy in Life Detection and Other Deep Space Missions

    Ground verification of the feasibility of telepresent on-orbit servicing

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    In an ideal case telepresence achieves a state in which a human operator can no longer differentiate between an interaction with a real environment and a technical mediated one. This state is called transparent telepresence. The applicability of telepresence to on-orbit servicing (OOS), i.e., an unmanned servicing operation in space, teleoperated from ground in real time, is verified in this paper. For this purpose, a communication test environment was set up on the ground, which involved the Institute of Astronautics (LRT) ground station in Garching, Germany, and the European Space Agency (ESA) ground station in Redu, Belgium. Both were connected via the geostationary ESA data relay satellite ARTEMIS. Utilizing the data relay satellite, a teleoperation was accomplished in which the human operator as well as the (space) teleoperator was located on the ground. The feasibility of telepresent OOS was evaluated, using an OOS test bed at the Institute of Mechatronics and Robotics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The manipulation task was representative for OOS and supported real-time feedback from the haptic-visual workspace. The tests showed that complex manipulation tasks can be fulfilled by utilizing geostationary data relay satellites. For verifying the feasibility of telepresent OOS, different evaluation methods were used. The properties of the space link were measured and related to subjective perceptions of participants, who had to fulfill manipulation tasks. An evaluation of the transparency of the system, including the data relay satellite, was accomplished as well

    Categorizing Admittance Control Parameters for the Ranger 8-DOF Tele-operated Space Manipulator

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    Position-based admittance control of a robotic manipulator is a strategy that allows the manipulator to achieve compliance without sacrificing positional accuracy or modifying the underlying position controller. Desired manipulator stiffness and damping can be specified so that the tool tip behaves as a spring-dashpot system. This work characterizes the range of parameters that allows stable task execution in contact with an environment of varying stiffness for the Ranger dexterous manipulator. A classical stability analysis and simulation of the controller is conducted to predict its response in contact. The manipulator's behavior is then observed during a series of simple tasks involving contact in one and two degrees of freedom. Suitable gains are chosen such that interaction forces at the tool tip are kept low. A compliant peg-in-hole insertion task is successfully accomplished. The work also outlines the implementation of an algorithm that removes unwanted gravity forces measured at the tool tip

    NASA Capability Roadmaps Executive Summary

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    This document is the result of eight months of hard work and dedication from NASA, industry, other government agencies, and academic experts from across the nation. It provides a summary of the capabilities necessary to execute the Vision for Space Exploration and the key architecture decisions that drive the direction for those capabilities. This report is being provided to the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) team for consideration in development of an architecture approach and investment strategy to support NASA future mission, programs and budget requests. In addition, it will be an excellent reference for NASA's strategic planning. A more detailed set of roadmaps at the technology and sub-capability levels are available on CD. These detailed products include key driving assumptions, capability maturation assessments, and technology and capability development roadmaps
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