Assessment of a Wearable Force- and Electromyography Device and Comparison of the Related Signals for Myocontrol

In the frame of assistive robotics, multi-finger prosthetic hand/wrists have recently appeared,offering an increasing level of dexterity; however, in practice their control is limited to a few handgrips and still unreliable, with the effect that pattern recognition has not yet appeared in the clinicalenvironment. According to the scientific community, one of the keys to improve the situation ismulti-modal sensing, i.e., using diverse sensor modalities to interpret the subject’s intent andimprove the reliability and safety of the control system in daily life activities. In this work, wefirst describe and test a novel wireless, wearable force- and electromyography device; throughan experiment conducted on ten intact subjects, we then compare the obtained signals bothqualitatively and quantitatively, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Our resultsindicate that force-myography yields signals which are more stable across time during whenevera pattern is held, than those obtained by electromyography. We speculate that fusion of the twomodalities might be advantageous to improve the reliability of myocontrol in the near future

Modular Mechatronics Infrastructure for Robotic Planetary Exploration Assets in a Field Operation Scenario

In 2021 the Modular Mechatronics Infrastructure (MMI) was introduced as a solution to reduce weight, costs, and development time in robotic lanetary missions. With standardized interfaces and multi-functional elements, this modular approach is planned to be used more often in sustainable exploration activities on the Moon and Mars. The German multi-robot research project “Autonomous Robotic Networks to Help Modern Societies (ARCHES)” has explored this concept with the use of various collaborative robotic assets which have their capabilities extended by the MMI. Different scientific payloads, engineering infrastructure modules, and specific purpose tools can be integrated to and manipulated by a robotic arm and a standardized electromechanical docking-interface. Throughout the MMI’s design and implementation phase the performed preliminary tests confirmed that the different systems of the robotic cooperative team such as the Docking Interface System (DIS), the Power Management System (PMS), and the Data Communication System (DCS) functioned successfully. During the summer of 2022 a Demonstration Mission on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy) was carried out as part of the ARCHES Project. This field scenario allowed the validation of the robotics systems in an analogue harsh environment and the confirmation of enhanced operations with the application of this modular method. Among the numerous activities performed in this volcanic terrain there are the efficient assembling of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) network, the energy-saving and reduced complexity of a detached Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) module, and the uninterrupted powered operation between modules when switching between different power sources. The field data collected during this analogue campaign provided important outcomes for the modular robotics application. Modular and autonomous robots certainly benefit from their versatility, reusability, less complex systems, reduced requirements for space qualification, and lower risks for the mission. These characteristics will ensure that long duration and complex robotic planetary endeavours are not as challenging as they used to be in the past

Design and Implementation of a Modular Mechatronics Infrastructure for Robotic Planetary Exploration Assets

Traditionally, the robotic systems which aim to explore other celestial bodies include all instruments and tools necessary for the mission. This makes them unique developments. Usually, they are heavy, complex, costly and do not provide any interchangeable parts that could be replaced in the event of permanent failure. However, for future missions, agencies, institutes and commercial companies are developing robotics systems based on the concept of modular robotics. This new strategy becomes critical for planetary exploration because it is able to reduce load, costs and development time. In the German multi robot research project, ‘’Autonomous Robotic Networks to Help Modern Societies (ARCHES)”, led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), this modern design methodology is followed. Cooperation among robots and modularity are the core of its structure. These characteristics are present in the collaboration between the rovers and the uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) during navigation tasks, or when the Lightweight Rover Unit (LRU) interacts with changeable manipulator tools and payload boxes through its robotic arm and its standardized electromechanical interface. Examples of these modules include scientific packages, power supply systems, communication and data acquisition architectures, soil sample storage units, and specific purpose end-effectors. The focus of this work is in the design and implementation of a mechatronics infrastructure (MI) which encompasses the docking interface, the payload modules, and the power and data management electronics board inside each box. These three elements are essential for the extension of the capabilities of the rover and the enhancement of the robotics systems according to the tasks to be performed. This will ensure that robots can cooperate with each other either in scientific missions or in the construction and maintenance of large structures. The MI’s hardware and software developed in this project will be tested and validated in the ARCHES demonstration mission on Mount Etna, Sicily, in Italy between 13th June and 9th July 2022. Finally, it is important to highlight that modularity and standardization were considered at all levels of the infrastructure. From the robotics systems to the internal architecture of each payload module, these concepts can provide versatility and reliability to the cooperative robotic network. This will improve the problem-solving capabilities of robots performing complex tasks in future planetary exploration missions

Modular Mechatronics Infrastructure for Robotic Planetary Exploration Assets in a Field Operation Scenario

In 2021 the Modular Mechatronics Infrastructure (MMI) was introduced as a solution to reduce weight, costs, and development time in robotic planetary missions. With standardized interfaces and multi-functional elements, this modular approach is planned to be used more often in sustainable exploration activities on the Moon and Mars. The German multi-robot research project “Autonomous Robotic Networks to Help Modern Societies (ARCHES)” has explored this concept with the use of various collaborative robotic assets which have their capabilities extended by the MMI. Different scientific payloads, engineering infrastructure modules, and specific purpose tools can be integrated to and manipulated by a robotic arm and a standardized electromechanical docking-interface. Throughout the MMI’s design and implementation phase the performed preliminary tests confirmed that the different systems of the robotic cooperative team such as the Docking Interface System (DIS), the Power Management System (PMS), and the Data Communication System (DCS) functioned successfully. During the summer of 2022 a Demonstration Mission on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy) was carried out as part of the ARCHES Project. This field scenario allowed the validation of the robotics systems in an analogue harsh environment and the confirmation of enhanced operations with the application of this modular method. Among the numerous activities performed in this volcanic terrain there are the efficient assembling of the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) network, the energy-saving and reduced complexity of a detached Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) module, and the uninterrupted powered operation between modules when switching between different power sources. The field data collected during this analogue campaign provided important outcomes for the modular robotics application. Modular and autonomous robots certainly benefit from their versatility, reusability, less complex systems, reduced requirements for space qualification, and lower risks for the mission. These characteristics will ensure that long duration and complex robotic planetary endeavours are not as challenging as they used to be in the past

Enabling Distributed Low Radio Frequency Arrays - Results of an Analog Campaign on Mt. Etna

Measurement of the red-shifted 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen, and thus observing The Dark Ages is expected to be the holy grail of 21-cm Cosmology. A Radio-telescope to observe low radio frequency signals is needed, but radio interference on Earth and Earth's ionosphere blocking these signals are limiting science investigations in this field. Hence, such a radio-telescope composed of dozens to hundreds of antennas shall be deployed on the lunar far side. Such arrays are shielded from interference from Earth and Earth's ionosphere blocking very low radio frequencies is not present. Within the Helmholtz Future Topic Project Autonomous Robotic Networks to Help Modern Societies (ARCHES) we developed necessary technologies for autonomous robotic deployment of antenna elements, modular payload box design, and robust radio-localization to enable such distributed low-frequency arrays. In particular the antennas’ positions must be determined accurately, such that the array can be operated as phased array. Our developments lead to the execution of an analog-demonstration on the volcano Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy, in June and July 2022 over the course of four weeks. We successfully demonstrated the autonomous robotic deployment of antenna elements and our decentralized real-time radio-localization system to obtain the antenna element positions. Additionally, we showed a proof-of-concept operation of the phased array comprising four antenna elements: estimating the signal direction of arrival of a radio-beacon with unknown position, and the beamforming capabilities itself, for a carrier frequency of 20 MHz. In this paper, we give insights into our developed technologies and the analog-demonstration on the volcano Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy. We show results of the successfully executed mission and give an outlook how our developed technologies can be further used for lunar exploration

MMX Rover Locomotion Subsystem - Development and Testing towards the Flight Model

Wheeled rovers have been successfully used as mobile landers on Mars and Moon and more such missions are in the planning. For the Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), such a wheeled rover will be used on the Marsian Moon Phobos. This is the first rover that will be used under such low gravity, called milli-g, which imposes many challenges to the design of the locomotion subsystem (LSS). The LSS is used for unfolding, standing up, driving, aligning and lowering the rover on Phobos. It is a entirely new developed highly-integrated mechatronic system that is specifically designed for Phobos. Since the Phase A concept of the LSS, which was presented two years ago [1], a lot of testing, optimization and design improvements have been done. Following the tight mission schedule, the LSS qualification and flight models (QM and FM) assembly has started in Summer 2021. In this work, the final FM design is presented together with selected test and optimization results that led to the final state. More specifically, advances in the mechanics, electronics, thermal, sensor, firmware and software design are presented. The LSS QM and FM will undergo a comprehensive qualification and acceptance testing campaign, respectively, in the first half of 2022 before the FM will be integrated into the rove

Mobile Manipulation of a Laser-induced Breakdown Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration

Laser-induced Breakdown Spectrometry (LIBS) is an established analytical technique to measure the elemental composition of rocks and other matter on the Martian surface. We propose an autonomous in-contact sampling method based on an attachable LIBS instrument, designed to measure the composition of samples on the surface of planets and moons. The spectrometer module is picked up by our Lightweight Rover Unit (LRU) at the landing site and transported to the sampling location, where the manipulator establishes a solid contact between the instrument and the sample. The rover commands the instrument to trigger the measurement, which in turn releases a laser-pulse and captures the spectrum of the resulting plasma. The in-contact deployment ensures a suitable focus distance for the spectrometer, without a focusing system that would add to the instrument's volume and weight, and allows for flexible deployment of the instrument. The autonomous software computes all necessary manipulation operations on-board the rover and requires almost no supervision from mission control. We tested the LRU and the LIBS instrument at the moon analogue test site on Mt. Etna, Sicily and successfully demonstrated multiple LIBS measurements, in which the rover automatically deployed the instrument on a rock sample, recorded a measurement and sent the data to mission control, with sufficient quality to distinguish the major elements of the recorded sample

Preliminary Results for the Multi-Robot, Multi-Partner, Multi-Mission, Planetary Exploration Analogue Campaign on Mount Etna

This paper was initially intended to report on the outcome of the twice postponed demonstration mission of the ARCHES project. Due to the global COVID pandemic, it has been postponed from 2020, then 2021, to 2022. Nevertheless, the development of our concepts and integration has progressed rapidly, and some of the preliminary results are worthwhile to share with the community to drive the dialog on robotics planetary exploration strategies. This paper includes an overview of the planned 4-week campaign, as well as the vision and relevance of the missiontowards the planned official space missions. Furthermore, the cooperative aspect of the robotic teams, the scientific motivation, the sub task achievements are summarised

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

The STAMAS Simulator: A Kinematics and Dynamics Simulator for an Astronaut's Leg and Hand Exoskeleton

In the scope of the European project STAMAS, novel exoskeleton based exercise and support devices for an astronaut's leg and hand are developed. The STAMAS simulator is capable of simulating the dynamic interaction between the astronaut and these two exoskeleton prototypes. It comprises components for the calculation of the kinematics and dynamics of the device and the astronaut's extremities, as well as a virtual reality viewer for visualization. The simulator not only offers efficient and inexpensive access to the behavior of the systems, but also is a veritable key element towards the assessment of the safety for the astronaut, for the equipment and for the mission. Simulations that have been conducted could confirm the concepts of both exoskeletons and reveal the mechanical strain and the required actuator forces