Autonomous Systems, Robotics, and Computing Systems Capability Roadmap: NRC Dialogue

Contents include the following: Introduction. Process, Mission Drivers, Deliverables, and Interfaces. Autonomy. Crew-Centered and Remote Operations. Integrated Systems Health Management. Autonomous Vehicle Control. Autonomous Process Control. Robotics. Robotics for Solar System Exploration. Robotics for Lunar and Planetary Habitation. Robotics for In-Space Operations. Computing Systems. Conclusion

Robotics handbook. Version 1: For the interested party and professional

This publication covers several categories of information about robotics. The first section provides a brief overview of the field of Robotics. The next section provides a reasonably detailed look at the NASA Robotics program. The third section features a listing of companies and organization engaging in robotics or robotic-related activities; followed by a listing of associations involved in the field; followed by a listing of publications and periodicals which cover elements of robotics or related fields. The final section is an abbreviated abstract of referred journal material and other reference material relevant to the technology and science of robotics, including such allied fields as vision perception; three-space axis orientation and measurement systems and associated inertial reference technology and algorithms; and physical and mechanical science and technology related to robotics

Technology assessment of advanced automation for space missions

Six general classes of technology requirements derived during the mission definition phase of the study were identified as having maximum importance and urgency, including autonomous world model based information systems, learning and hypothesis formation, natural language and other man-machine communication, space manufacturing, teleoperators and robot systems, and computer science and technology

Technology for the Future: In-Space Technology Experiments Program, part 2

The purpose of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) In-Space Technology Experiments Program In-STEP 1988 Workshop was to identify and prioritize technologies that are critical for future national space programs and require validation in the space environment, and review current NASA (In-Reach) and industry/ university (Out-Reach) experiments. A prioritized list of the critical technology needs was developed for the following eight disciplines: structures; environmental effects; power systems and thermal management; fluid management and propulsion systems; automation and robotics; sensors and information systems; in-space systems; and humans in space. This is part two of two parts and contains the critical technology presentations for the eight theme elements and a summary listing of critical space technology needs for each theme

The next decade of space robotics

In the same way that the launch of Yuri Gagarin in April 1961 announced the beginning of human space flight, last year's flight of the German ROTEX robot flight experiment is heralding the start of a new era of space robotics. After a gap of twelve years since the introduction of a new capability in space remote manipulation, ROTEX is the first of at least ten new robotic systems and experiments which will fly before the year 2000

Adoption of vehicular ad hoc networking protocols by networked robots

This paper focuses on the utilization of wireless networking in the robotics domain. Many researchers have already equipped their robots with wireless communication capabilities, stimulated by the observation that multi-robot systems tend to have several advantages over their single-robot counterparts. Typically, this integration of wireless communication is tackled in a quite pragmatic manner, only a few authors presented novel Robotic Ad Hoc Network (RANET) protocols that were designed specifically with robotic use cases in mind. This is in sharp contrast with the domain of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET). This observation is the starting point of this paper. If the results of previous efforts focusing on VANET protocols could be reused in the RANET domain, this could lead to rapid progress in the field of networked robots. To investigate this possibility, this paper provides a thorough overview of the related work in the domain of robotic and vehicular ad hoc networks. Based on this information, an exhaustive list of requirements is defined for both types. It is concluded that the most significant difference lies in the fact that VANET protocols are oriented towards low throughput messaging, while RANET protocols have to support high throughput media streaming as well. Although not always with equal importance, all other defined requirements are valid for both protocols. This leads to the conclusion that cross-fertilization between them is an appealing approach for future RANET research. To support such developments, this paper concludes with the definition of an appropriate working plan

Finally! Insights into the ARCHES Lunar Planetary Exploration Analogue Campaign on Etna in summer 2022

This paper summarises the first outcomes of the space demonstration mission of the ARCHES project which could have been performed this year from 13 june until 10 july on Italy’s Mt. Etna in Sicily. After the second postponement related to COVID from the initially for 2020 planed campaign, we are now very happy to report, that the whole campaign with more than 65 participants for four weeks has been successfully conduced. In this short overview paper, we will refer to all other publication here on IAC22. This paper includes an overview of the performed 4-week campaign and the achieved mission goals and first results but also share our findings on the organisational and planning aspects

Lunar exploration rover program developments

The Robotic All Terrain Lunar Exploration Rover (RATLER) design concept began at Sandia National Laboratories in late 1991 with a series of small, proof-of-principle, working scale models. The models proved the viability of the concept for high mobility through mechanical simplicity, and eventually received internal funding at Sandia National Laboratories for full scale, proof-of-concept prototype development. Whereas the proof-of-principle models demonstrated the mechanical design's capabilities for mobility, the full scale proof-of-concept design currently under development is intended to support field operations for experiments in telerobotics, autonomous robotic operations, telerobotic field geology, and advanced man-machine interface concepts. The development program's current status is described, including an outline of the program's work over the past year, recent accomplishments, and plans for follow-on development work

End-Effector Contact and Force Detection for Miniature Autonomous Robots Performing Lunar and Expeditionary Surgery

Introduction: The U.S. Space Force was stood up on December 20, 2019 as an independent branch under the Air Force consisting of about 16,000 active duty and civilian personnel focused singularly on space. In addition to the Space Force, the plans by NASA and private industry for exploration-class long-duration missions to the moon, near-earth asteroids, and Mars makes semi-independent medical capability in space a priority. Current practice for space-based medicine is limited and relies on a “life-raft” scenario for emergencies. Discussions by working groups on military space-based medicine include placing a Role III equivalent facility in a lunar surface station. Surgical capability is a key requirement for that facility. Materials and Methods: To prepare for the eventuality of surgery in space, it is necessary to develop low-mass, low power, mini-surgical robots, which could serve as a celestial replacement for existing terrestrial robots. The current study focused on developing semi-autonomous capability in surgical robotics, specifically related to task automation. Two categories for end-effector tissue interaction were developed: Visual feedback from the robot to detect tissue contact, and motor current waveform measurements to detect contact force. Results: Using a pixel-to-pixel deep neural network to train, we were able to achieve an accuracy of nearly 90% for contact/nocontact detection. Large torques were predicted well by a trained long short-term memory recursive network, but the technique did not predict small torques well. Conclusion: Surgical capability on long-duration missions will require human/machine teaming with semi-autonomous surgical robots. Our existing small, lightweight, low-power miniature robots perform multiple essential tasks in one design including hemostasis, fluid management, suturing for traumatic wounds, and are fully insertable for internal surgical procedures. To prepare for the inevitable eventuality of an emergency surgery in space, it is essential that automated surgical robot capabilities be developed