The first interactive Space Station Freedom (SSF) lab robot exhibit was installed at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, and has been running daily since. IntraVehicular Activity (IVA) the robot is mounted in a full scale U.S. Lab (USL) mockup to educate the public on possible automation and robotic applications aboard the SSF. Responding to audio and video instructions at the Command Console, exhibit patrons may prompt IVA to perform a housekeeping task or give a speaking tour of the module. Other exemplary space station tasks are simulated and the public can even challenge IVA to a game of tic tac toe. In anticipation of such a system being built for the Space Station, a discussion is provided of the approach taken, along with suggestions for applicability to the Space Station Environment

Dewitt, J. Russell

Konkel, Carl R.

Powers, Allen K.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

N91-20643
IVA THE ROBOT:
DESIGN GUIDELINES AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE FIRST
SPACE STATION LABORATORY MANIPULATION SYSTEM
Carl R. Konkel
Allen K. Powers
J. Russell Dewitt
Teledyne Brown Engineering
300 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, Alabama 35807
ABSTRACT
The first interactive Space Station Freedom (SSF) laboratory robot exhibit has been installed
at the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama and has been running daily since
March. IVA the Robot is mounted in a full scale United States Laboratory (USL) mockup to
educate the public on possible automation and robotic applications aboard the SSF.
Responding to audio and video instructions at the Command Console, exhibit patrons may
prompt IVA to perform a housekeeping task or give a speaking tour of the module. Other
exemplary space station tasks are simulated and the public can even challenge IVA to a game
of tic-tac-toe.
In anticipation of such a system being built for the Space Station, a discussion is provided of
the approach taken, along with suggestions for applicability to the Space Station environment.
INTRODUCTION
Teledyne Brown Engineering is pursuing an IR&D effort in robotics and automation in
support of the NASA Space Station Freedom.' This effort was initiated by user requirements
which underscore the need for enhanced levels of automation and machine intelligence to
reduce crew workloads. SSF phase B studies have shown available crew time as one of the
most limited consumables and an obvious solution would be to automate those repetitive tasks
which lend themselves to automation. This would allow the crew to perform the more
sophisticated duties which require human dexterity and interaction. A prototype of an
IntraVehicular Activities (IVA) robot for a conceptual Laboratory Manipulator System has
been assembled as IVA the Robot (Figure 1) within a Space Station Freedom mockup at the
Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910011330 2020-03-19T18:30:42+00:00Z
IVA THE ROBOT
The Space and Rocket Center is a functional museum which presents a unique history of
America's adventures in space as well as conceptual models of what may be expected in future
space efforts. The intent of a Laboratory Manipulator System within the Space Station
mockup is to display realistic space robotic applications to a public which expects C3PO and
R2D2 capabilities from robotic systems. Following is a discussion of original design
requirements and the approach taken to fulfill those specifications.
Design Requirements: The original IVA the Robot Exhibit specification detailed the location,
weight, dimensions, configuration and appearance of the Laboratory Manipulator System.
IVA was to be located on a six-foot track suspended from the laboratory module and be able
to reach three racks of equipment. Standard Space Station tasks such as picking up a
cylindrical sample and placing it in a materials processing furnace, or opening a door to
remove a piece of equipment were specified. Among the more specific capabilities was the
definition of a "wipe-down" task in which the robot would open a storage door, remove a
sponge, proceed to clean a wall, and replace the sponge. Another unique task, included for
both entertainment value as well as dexterity demonstration reasons was a Tic-Tac-Toe game
played between the robot and an observer. Figure 2 is a block diagram of IVA's major
elements and their interfaces.
All of the required tasks are initiated from the Control Console by the user. Based on user
inputs from a joystick or pushbuttons, IVA will perform the following tasks:
1) Housekeeping. This task has already been defined for the SSF habitable modules and
crew members were the first to suggest a "cleaning robot" to do it. IVA removes a
sponge from a storage compartment, wipes down the walls and replaces the sponge in
the compartment. Concurrently, a voice system is used to explain what IVA is doing
and why it is necessary.
2) Furnace sample changeout. In an effort to demonstrate the usefulness of a robot for
experiment manipulation, a task to changeout samples in a materials processing furnace
was defined. First, IVA opens a storage door within which samples are stored. Then
IVA proceeds to the furnace where the "heated" sample is removed and placed in an
empty storage bin. A "fresh" sample is selected from the storage bin and placed into
the furnace and all doors are closed. Sensors are located in the furnace compartment
and in the storage bin to sense the location of all samples. Intelligence is programmed
into IVA so that samples are not placed into an occupied slot. Again, IVA speaks to the
exhibit user and explains the process.
3) Tours of the Space Station and module. There are two tours which have IVA
speaking to the public explaining the Space Station, the Laboratory Module, and IVA's
purpose. During the discussion, IVA guides the user by pointing and motioning to the
various items of interest.
4) Manual Mode. To give the public a direct feel of operating a robot, IVA responds
to various joystick and push button inputs which give the user direct control of the
robot. Precautions are programmed so that IVA can't collide with anything or damage
laboratory components.
10
5) Tic-tac-toe.Oneof IVA'smoreambitiousprogrammingtasks,tic-tac-toe
demonstratesIVA's flexibilityanddexterityin a funwaytoexhibitpatrons.Thegame
iscontrolledbytheuserattheconsolemonitorandthegamepiecesarephysically
movedby IVA. Thisis themostpopulartaskandIVA isn'teasytobeat.Onthe
averageagainstagoodplayer,IVA will win20%of thetime,tie 60%of thetimeand
losetherest.As withall tasks,IVA usesthevoicesystemto explainthegameandhow
to operatethecontrols.
IVA is powered up around the clock and runs in three basic modes. The first mode includes
all the interactive actions described above, where IVA interacts directly with the public.
Another mode is the non-interactive mode in which IVA will run different tasks from those
discussed above until someone approaches the command console. There is a pressure mat in
front of the command console so that IVA knows when someone is at the controls. The last
mode is a "sleep" mode where IVA will park and go into a dormant state when the museum is
closed for the night.
An integrated system, IVA is built mostly from off the shelf components. The brains of the
system is an IBM PC/AT using the GWBASIC and Quick Basic programming languages. The
PC reads inputs from exhibit patrons at the command console and converts those inputs to
directives to the robot arm and exhibit peripherals. The PC also schedules events like the
parking of the robot at night, occasional recalibrations and keeps records of all tasks
performed by IVA. Given a quantitative record of activity, the exhibit may later be
streamlined according to usage. Having a written record also helps the troubleshooter to
pinpoint problems by showing which routine was executing and when a problem occurred.
The voice capabilities are provided with a COVOX VOICEMASTER system. This speech
system digitizes a spoken message and allows the ability to prompt IVA's speech within the
control program. The robot arm is a Canadian-made CRS M1 six axis arm mounted on a six
foot track bolted to the mockup ceiling. Programs which move the robot gripper to teach
points are written in the CRS particular language and are prompted in response to signals
from the PC. Lastly, a control/SVC panel was built to house the OPTO22 I/O boards. This
panel distributes signals between the robot and the PC, the robot and the exhibit, and the PC
and the exhibit.
IVA has demonstrated the ability of a single 6 axis track-mounted robot to successfully service
three racks within the Space Station exhibit. But before any robotic system will be
implemented within Space Station Freedom, crew and lab safety issues must be addressed and
solved. Regardless of obvious workload benefits from a robotic system, there must be
complete assurance that no detriment to the crew or lab hardware can occur at the hands of
that system. The logistics of being a museum exhibit precludes exhibit patrons from any
direct physical harm from IVA. The complete safety system is a "deadman" switch located in
the access door to IVA's module, so entering the workspace powers down the robot.
Certainly, this isn't possible in a Space Station environment where it is conceivable that man
and robot may directly interact, therefore demanding the demonstration of harmonious
interaction between the two.
Lessons Learned. Tho onboard IVA robot element of the system has been working
successfully on a daily 12-hour basis. Minor problems such as workspace incompatibilities
with theoriginalteachpointsandrobotvoicecoordinationwereanticipatedandsolvedearly.
Unanticipatedproblemsincludedintermittentfailure of flexible cablewires exhibiting
symptomsanalogousto "software"errors,andearlysaturationof I/O signals.
CONCLUSION
TheIVA theRobotexhibitwasdevelopedwith theanticipationof the implementationof
roboticsystemswithinSpaceStationFreedom.TheexhibithasbeenoperationalsinceMarch,
1990andIVA servicesthreeracksof mockequipment.Extensionof an IVA-typerobotto
SSFcouldfreeastronautsfromrepetitivetasksfor betterusageof theirtime. Sucha system
maybedirectlyvoicecontrolledby anastronautor possiblyevenremotelycontrolledby a
groundstationoperator.In aneffortto alleviateastronautworkload,it is believedthatwhile
classicalrobotictechniquesarereadilyapplicableto specifictasks,themajorareaof concern
is to crewandlaboratorysafety.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to recognize Mike Cobb, the electronics techician for this project. With a
keen insight of electronic troubleshooting, Mike considerably shortened the Lessons Learned
portion of this paper, saving valuable time and a portion of the authors' sanity.
12
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Figure 2. Exhibit elements and interfaces
14


IVA the robot: Design guidelines and lessons learned from the first space station laboratory manipulation system

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