Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Away Team Droid Tech: Enabling In-Situ Resources Utilisation by Leveraging Collaborative Robotics And Astronaut-Robot Interaction

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
cs.RO
July 17, 2024
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Away Team Droid Tech: Enabling In-Situ Resources Utilisation by Leveraging Collaborative Robotics And Astronaut-Robot Interaction
Manipulation system. Arm with tool loaded and tool changer. — cs.RO

Space exploration and establishing human presence on other planets demand advanced technology and effective collaboration between robots and astronauts. Efficient space resource utilization is also vital for extraterrestrial settlements.

The Collaborative In-Situ Resources Utilisation (CISRU) project has developed a software suite comprising five key modules. The first module manages multi-agent autonomy, facilitating communication between agents and mission control. The second focuses on environment perception, employing AI algorithms for tasks like environment segmentation and object pose estimation.

The third module ensures safe navigation, covering obstacle avoidance, social navigation with astronauts, and cooperation among robots. The fourth module addresses manipulation functions, including multi-tool capabilities and tool-changer design for diverse tasks in In-Situ Resources Utilization (ISRU) scenarios. Finally, the fifth module controls cooperative behaviour, incorporating astronaut commands, Mixed Reality interfaces, map fusion, task supervision, and error control.

The suite was tested using an astronaut-rover interaction dataset in a planetary environment and GMV SPoT analogue environments. Results demonstrate the advantages of E4 autonomy and AI in space systems, benefiting astronaut-robot collaboration. This paper details CISRU’s development, field test preparation, and analysis, highlighting its potential to revolutionize planetary exploration through AI-powered technology.

Silvia Romero-Azpitarte, Cristina Luna, Alba Guerra, Mercedes Alonso, Pablo Romeo Manrique, Marina L. Seoane, Daniel Olayo, Almudena Moreno, Pablo Castellanos, Fernando Gandía, Gianfranco Visentin

Comments: 9 pages, conference paper for IAC 23
Subjects: Robotics (cs.RO)
Cite as: arXiv:2311.03146 [cs.RO] (or arXiv:2311.03146v1 [cs.RO] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2311.03146
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Submission history
From: Cristina Luna
[v1] Mon, 6 Nov 2023 14:43:03 UTC (934 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.03146
Astrobiology,

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻