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Robotics
Robotic research at JPL consists of activities in mobility, machine vision, software architecture, landing simulations, and robot design. JPL has had several recent successes in this area, most notably the Mars Exploration Rovers. Advancements in robotic technologies are leading to smarter robots, that would soon be capable of exploring more planets and conducting increasingly complex scientific experiments.
Robotics researchers at JPL are tasked with developing, maturing, and bringing to flight, robotics technology for in-situ exploration of the solar system. Toward this end, these individuals perform research and spaceflight implementation of robotic systems for surface, aerial, subsurface access, as well as other related technologies for exploration. Researchers also provide robotics expertise for flight hardware and software implementation, and mission operations support.
Graphic showing MER navigation technique of evaluating terrain traversability along discrete arcs in the imaged terrain. This algorithm is called GESTALT (Grid-based Estimation of Surface Traversability Applied to Local Terrain).
Specifically, the JPL robotics groups endeavor to build autonomous systems which enable:
Driving: long-range, continuous mobility over rough terrain, with wheeled and legged vehicles
Flying: aerial mobility in planetary atmospheres for regional access and observation below obscuring cloud layers
Landing: accurate and safe touchdown using descent imagery for determination of position and velocity of the spacecraft, and quality of the local terrain
Subsurface Access: penetration through regolith and ice using controlled methods of drilling and melting
Sampling: sample acquisition and handling through digging, grasping, transfer, and processing of environmental materials
Assembly: construction of in-space and surface structures which enable science operations and support human activities
To address these application areas, JPL robotics researchers work to advance capabilities in several key technical areas:
Robot systems software architecture and implementation
Machine vision and sensor processing algorithms
Mobility and manipulation control algorithms
Advanced electro-mechanical systems development
Integrated simulation of landing and mobility
Human to robot interfaces
Robot design, integration, test, and operation
Below are descriptions of specific research projects that address some of these technical areas. They represent only a selected portion of ongoing work in JPL robotics.
Selected Research Projects Overview
Research and development in the Mobility and Robotics Systems section spans from hardware to software, manipulation to mobility, small to large, and many other dimensions. Below is selected subset of ongoing research which represents the spectrum of activities.
ATHLETE: All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer
ATHLETE is a new concept for mobile habitat transport for lunar operations. Each ATHLETE system would consist of six limbs with wheels, which coulc drive over smooth terrain or walk over rough terrain on the Moon. Additionally, each limb has attachment points for a suite of tools which would allow it to acts a manipulator for set of tasks such as cargo handling.
The first version of the ATHLETE vehicle is under development and has the following characteristics:
Size greater than 4 m in diameter with more than 6 m reach
Large payload capacity of 450 kg per vehicle
Docking capability for multi-vehicle coordination and cargo transportation.
6-DOF legs for generalized robotic manipulation
Ability to attach special-purpose devices for interacting with the terrain or other vehicles
Two ATHLETE rovers traverse the terrain.
Reusable Robotic Software – CLARAty
CLARAty, the Coupled-Layer Architecture for Robotic Autonomy, is an integrated framework for reusable robotic software. It defines interfaces for common robotic functionality and integrates multiple implementations of any given functionality. Examples of such capabilities include pose estimation, navigation, locomotion and planning. In addition to supporting multiple algorithms, CLARAty provides adaptations to multiple robotic platforms. CLARAty, has been primarily funded by the Mars Technology Program, and serves as the integration environment for the programs rover technology developments.
CLARAty is a domain-specific robotic architecture designed with four main objectives:
To promote the reuse of robotic software infrastructure across multiple NASA-related research efforts
To promote the integration of new technologies developed by the robotics community onto rover platforms
To mature robotic capabilities through reuse and enable independent formal validation
To share the development with the robotic community to promote rapid advancement and leveraging of capabilities
CLARAty is a collaborative effort among four institutions: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of Minnesota. CLARAty builds upon decades of robotic expertise at these centers and a large code base of robotic software. The majority of the software is developed using state-of-the-art software engineering techniques such as model-based design, design patterns, generic programming, object-oriented design, and component models. The software is predominantly written in C++.
CLARAty software operates on board the Rocky 8 rover.
High-Fidelity Physics-Based Simulation DARTS
The JPL Mobility and Robotic Systems Section has a broad spectrum of modeling and simulation capabilities in support of surface and near-surface robotic-exploration technologies and missions. A family of models supports mission domains that include surface exploration- with planetary rovers, sample acquisition, entry/descent/landing, safe landing, legged mobility platforms, aerobots, and subsurface exploration. The simulations are used in a number of ways:
Early system design and technology development
Algorithm development
Mission analysis and design
Onboard-software integration and testing
System verification and validation
Surface mission operations
This work relies primarily on a software infrastructure name DARTS (Dynamics Algorithms for Real-Time Simulation), a high-fidelity, flexible multi-body dynamics simulator used for real-time hardware-in-the-loop design, integration and testing. DARTS is based on the Spatial Operator Algebra framework, also developed within JPL robotics. Several domain specific implementations of DARTS have been developed, including DSENDS for entry-descent-landing, and ROAMS for surface mobility simulation.
DSENDS simulation of Entry, Descent, and Landing on Mars.
Autonomous Aerobots for Exploration of Titan and Venus
An Aerobot is a robotic aerial vehicle that uses buoyancy to provide the lift needed to fly. Such vehicles are essentially balloons with scientific payloads suspended underneath and, optionally, propulsion systems (e.g., propellers) mounted on either the balloon or payload compartment.
JPL is developing aerobot technology for potential use in future missions to Mars, Titan and Venus. The different environments at these three worlds dictate the use of different aerobot designs and components, which in turn would lead to different kinds of possible missions:
Titan has a very dense but very cold atmosphere comprised mostly of nitrogen gas. JPL is developing both wind-blown and self-propelled aerobot vehicles using cryogenic balloon materials. Payloads of up to a few hundred kilograms would be possible for mission durations of 6-12 months.
Venus has a very dense carbon dioxide atmosphere that is relatively cool at high altitudes but extremely hot near the surface. JPL is developing both wind-blown and self-propelled aerobot vehicles for a variety of mission concepts that could either stay high, stay low or traverse the entire atmosphere. Payloads could range from tens to hundreds of kilograms in missions lasting days or weeks.
Mars has only a tenuous carbon dioxide atmosphere, which means that very large, lightweight balloons would be required to float even small payloads of a few kilograms. JPL is focused on developing simple, wind-blown balloons that could fly for weeks or months.
Left image: The Venus Balloon prototype undergoing inflation tests at JPL.
Right image: Aerobot testbed for aerial autonomy technology development for Titan exploration.
Computer Vision for Terrain Perception
An example of JPL stereo vision image processing, as used by the MER Mars rovers. On the left is one image from a stereo pair, while the right shows an elevation map computed from the pair. Elevation maps of the terrain are used for navigation and manipulation decisions.
The Mobility and Robotics Section is very active in research for non-NASA sponsors on a variety of topics, including perception for autonomous navigation of unmanned ground, air, and sea surface vehicles (UGVs, UAVs, and USSVs), as well as object recognition from ground and overhead vantage points to serve a variety of applications.
Perception research for autonomous UGVs addresses real-time 3-D perception, multi-sensor terrain classification, and learning from experience to improve navigation performance.
JPL pioneered the development of real-time stereo vision for 3-D perception for off-road navigation, continues to improve algorithms for this function, and pursues custom hardware implementations of stereo vision for compact, low-power, high-speed vision systems.
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