Mark Allan

RAPID: Collaboration results from three NASA centers in commanding/monitoring lunar assets

Three NASA centers are working together to address the challenge of operating robotic assets in support of human exploration of the Moon. This paper describes the combined work to date of the Ames Research Center (ARC), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) on a common support framework to control and monitor lunar robotic assets. We discuss how we have addressed specific challenges including time-delayed operations, and geographically distributed collaborative monitoring and control, to build an effective architecture for integrating a heterogeneous collection of robotic assets into a common work. We describe the design of the Robot Application Programming Interface Delegate (RAPID) architecture that effectively addresses the problem of interfacing a family of robots including the JSC Chariot, ARC K-10 and JPL ATHLETE rovers. We report on lessons learned from the June 2008 field test in which RAPID was used to monitor and control all of these assets. We conclude by discussing some future directions to extend the RAPID architecture to add further support for NASAs lunar exploration program.

Supervising Remote Humanoids Across Intermediate Time Delay

The Presidents Vision for Space Exploration, laid out in 2004, relies heavily upon robotic exploration of the lunar surface in early phases of the program. Prior to the arrival of astronauts on the lunar surface, these robots will be required to be controlled across space and time, posing a considerable challenge for traditional telepresence techniques. Because time delays will be measured in seconds, not minutes as is the case for Mars Exploration, uploading the plan for a day seems excessive. An approach for controlling humanoids under intermediate time delay is presented. This approach uses software running within a ground control cockpit to predict an immersed robot supervisors motions which the remote humanoid autonomously executes. Initial results are presented

Reaching for the Moon: Expanding Transactive Memory's Reach with Wikis and Tagging

Transactive memory systems (TMS) support knowledge sharing and coordination in groups. TMS are enabled by the encoding, storage, retrieval, and communication of knowledge by domain experts—knowing who knows what. The NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group provides an example of how TMS theoretical boundaries are stretched in actual use. This group is characterized as being highly innovative as they routinely engage in field studies that are inherently difficult due to time and technology resource constraints. We provide an expanded view of TMS that includes the technology support system available to this group, and possible further extensions to NASA’s or other such dynamic groups’ practice.

Astronaut Interface Device (AID)

The Astronaut Interface Device (AID) Project was focused on developing technologies that will allow an astronaut (in a pressurized spacesuit) to control and communicate with several different robots on the moon. The intention was to provide the astronaut with useful information about each robot, and the capability to send commands to these robots. This goal proved to be a significant engineering challenge because the robots (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE), K10, and Centaur) were dissimilar robots, with very different architectures and functionality. In spite of the challenges, the three NASA center team (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ames Research Center, and Johnson Space Center) was able to successfully monitor and control all three robots after only six months of development. This paper discusses the background of each robot, provides a detailed description of the design and development of AID, and reviews field testing outcomes.

The Exploration Technology Development Program Multi-Center Cockpit

NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) develops the technologies needed for future human lunar exploration missions. Advanced robotic systems can help the crew explore, assemble, and maintain a lunar outpost. The ETDP Multi-Center Cockpit (EMCC) is a computer workstation that allows an operator to simultaneously monitor and command groups of diverse robots. The EMCC may be located at a robot test site or at a location significantly removed from the test site. The robots being controlled can be located together at a single test site, or can be located at different sites. The EMCC eliminates the need for an operator to understand different robot languages, and reduces the difficulty of operating a robot over time delays, such as the ones introduced by the Earth-Moon distance or by communication network latency. The EMCC provides the operator with a unified command and telemetry interface for monitoring the robots and with a predictive graphical display of the robots. In this paper, we describe the EMCC design and implementation, and report on its performance in June 2008 during the ETDP Human-Robotic Systems Integrated Field Test at Moses Lake Sand Dunes, Washington.