Centaur: A Mobile Dexterous Humanoid for Surface Operations

Future human and robotic planetary expeditions could benefit greatly from expanded Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) capabilities supporting a broad range of multiple, concurrent surface operations. Risky, expensive and complex, conventional EVAs are restricted in both duration and scope by consumables and available manpower, creating a resource management problem. A mobile, highly dexterous Extra-Vehicular Robotic (EVR) system called Centaur is proposed to cost-effectively augment human astronauts on surface excursions. The Centaur design combines a highly capable wheeled mobility platform with an anthropomorphic upper body mounted on a three degree-of-freedom waist. Able to use many ordinary handheld tools, the robot could conserve EVA hours by relieving humans of many routine inspection and maintenance chores and assisting them in more complex tasks, such as repairing other robots. As an astronaut surrogate, Centaur could take risks unacceptable to humans, respond more quickly to EVA emergencies and work much longer shifts. Though originally conceived as a system for planetary surface exploration, the Centaur concept could easily be adapted for terrestrial military applications such as de-Gig, surveillance and other hazardous duties

Centaur: NASA’s mobile humanoid designed for filed work

Abstract -NASA's future lunar and martian missions will require a suite of advanced robotic systems to complete tasks during precursor visits and to assist humans while present on the surface. The Centaur is a new mobile, dexterous manipulation system designed with this future role in mind. Centaur combines the sophisticated upper body dexterity of NASA's humanoid, Robonaut, with a rugged and versatile four-wheeled base. This combination allows for robotic use of human tools and interfaces in remote locations by incorporating design improvements to the existing Robonaut that target the challenges of planetary field work: rough terrain, a varied environment (temperature, dust, wind, etc.), and distance from human operators. An overview of Centaur's design is presented focusing on the features that serve to mitigate the above risks and allow the robot to perform human-like tasks in unstructured environments. The success of this design is also demonstrated by the results of a recent coordinated field demonstration in which Centaur, under both teleoperated and autonomous control, cooperated with other NASA robots