ROBOTICS AND LUNAR EXPLORATION Ayanna M. Howard, Ph.D. Human-Automation Systems Lab School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Georgia Institute of

ROBOTICS AND LUNAR EXPLORATION

Ayanna M. Howard, Ph.D. Human-Automation Systems Lab

School of Electrical and Computer EngineeringGeorgia Institute of Technology

Acknowledgements: Dr. Edward Tunstel, Lead Engineer, MER Mobility Team

Dr. Paul Schenker, Manager, Robotics Space Exploration Technology Program

Why Robots?

• WHY NOT JUST HUMANS FOR PRE-CURSOR LUNAR MISSIONS??

• Has been PROVEN that Human Control is NOT Safe!!

• When steering commands are delayed by communications there is a tendency for the operator to over-steer and lose control.

• It was shown that with a communication delay corresponding to round trip to the Moon (about 2 1/2 seconds) the vehicle could not be reliably controlled if traveling faster than about 0.2 mph (0.3 kph) [Adams 1961]

Why Robots?

• WHY ROBOTS FOR SORTIE MISSIONS??• A complex extended mission will require more tasks than

humans can support without help.• Crewmember time will be a very valuable resource, so

mundane tasks should be minimized. This will allow the crew to apply their expertise where it is most needed.

• Extra-vehicular activity is particularly risky for humans, but will be unavoidable for a complex mission.

– Spacesuits restrict mobility, dexterity, and visual field– Suit pressurization opposes bending motions, reducing effective

stamina– Limited time during EVA, plus time for pre-breathing

• More increasingly, robotic vehicle autonomy is necessary for ensuring science return and achieving overall success of planetary surface missions

• Recent and planned missions include requirements that rely on autonomous mobility and manipulation technologies to achieve mission success– Mars Pathfinder (MPF) (Sojourner rover):

• traverse to science targets to acquire spectroscopic measurements

– Mars Exploration Rover (MER): • traverse to new locations over terrain of

some reference complexity and accurately place instruments onto science targets

• maintain estimated position knowledge within some % of distance traversed

– Mars Science Laboratory (MSL); ExoMars

Rover Functionality

MER Benchmark for Rover Autonomy

• MER represents the longest deployment of planetary rovers in remote planetary surface environments.

• A new benchmark in planetary robot autonomy and human-robot systems (in addition to a landmark in planetary in situ scientific exploration)

• Assess rovers’ performance (surface navigation and instrument placement) to facilitate understanding of future robotic systems by providing metrics derived from Mars performance data for Spirit and Opportunity.

Surface Operations

• Rover technologies can be classified based on four common technologies

Surface Mobility

Human-Robot EVA Interactions

Science Perception,Planning & Execution

(Mobile Autonomy)

(Mobility Mechanization)

Position sensors, collect and processsamples

May include sample containerizationand return-rendezvous phases

Terrain assessment, pathplanning, visual servoing

Extreme terrain access,energy efficiency

Tele-operation andhuman supervision ofrobotic explorers

Robotic work crews

On-board and ground tools;data analysis, targetselection, operationsplanning and execution

Instrument Placement andSample Manipulation

Surface Mobility

• Characteristics include:– Distance/range– Speed– Terrain accessibility (slopes, obstacles, texture, soil)– Load carrying capability– Agility (turn radius)– Access (vertical, sub-surface, small spaces, etc.)

Movement is a key requirement for autonomous planetary rovers. Focus is to enable planetary rovers to traverse long distances on challenging terrains safely and autonomously.

• Trade-offs on design include:– Maneuverability– Traction– Climbing ability– Stability– Efficiency– Environmental impact

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HumAnS Lab, GeorgiaTech

Science Perception, Planning, Execution• Provide ground tools for scientists to plan days events, while

allowing generation and robust execution of plans with contingencies, concurrent activities, and flexible times

• Characteristics Include:

• Sensing

• Analysis (e.g. chemical analysis)

• Data processing

• Understanding of Context, Knowledge, and Experience

Global Site Knowledge

In-Situ Measurement

Modeling

Hypothesis Generation

HypothesisTesting

Sensor, terrain-interaction, and navigational control models driveearly operational scenario assessment and design validation

Human-Robot EVA Interactions• Characteristics

– Ground based supervised autonomy (versus tele-operation)• Operator may enter planning, monitoring, and control at multiple

levels

– Proximate telepresence– Shoulder-to-shoulder interaction– Robot assistants

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HumAnS Lab, GeorgiaTech

Instrument Placement/Sample Manipulation

• Common Characteristics Include:– Mass and volume– Fragility, contamination, reactivity– Manipulation technique: Torque, Precision, Complexity

of motion– Repetitive vs. unique– Time– Moving with minimal disturbance

Arm placement and object manipulation involves touching a specific point in 3D space, grasping an arbitrarily oriented object in 3D space, and moving an object from one location to another.

The CHALLENGE Get there efficiently and safely

And, move the arm so that it does not try to violate its own joint limits

And ensure that it does not hit itself or the rest of the robot, or any other obstacles in the environment

Capability Benchmarks: MER to MSL

Landed Mass 174 kg ~600 kg

Autonomous Traverse 17.5-34.5 m/hr 89-100 m/hrRates

Designed Driving ~4500 m 5000-10,000 mDistance

Approachability 2.93 m/sol 6.67 m/sol

Power/Sol 400 - 950 w/hr ~2400 w/hr

Instruments (#/mass) 7/5.44 kg 6-9/65 kg

Data Return 50-150 Mb/sol 500-1000 Mb/sol

Mars Exploration Rover

1.2 m

Mars Science Laboratory

Current State-of-the-Art• Autonomous mobility and sample access

– MER mobility: 10-120 m/sol to commanded point with > 90% success, < 20 degree slopes, sparse obstacle field

– MER visual odometry: ~2% accuracy over distance traveled– MER sample access: RAT, wheel scuffing of soil– Deep Space 2: Small, sub-surface micro probe, ~50cm access

• Autonomous instrument deployment– MPL arm: ~2 m reach, 4 DOF, operated from fixed platform– MER arm: 90 cm reach, 4 DOF, operated from mobile base

• On-board autonomous science– Human-commanded on per-sol basis– Fixed sequences

• Human-robotic field science– No operational experience

• Human-robot interaction– Sojourner/MER: Ground teleoperation– MER: Commanded on per-sol basis

=> Laboratory, and some field, demonstrations of long-range navigation (< km per command cycle), 7DOF arms, meter-deep drilling, single instrument placement, autonomous science planning and execution, robotic assistants, etc.

goalautonomous

traverse route

partial panoramagoal

Challenges to Mobile Autonomy

APPROACH & INSTRUMENT PLACEMENT:Autonomous placement of a science instrument on a designated target, specified in imagery taken from a stand-off distance. Precise contact measurements and autonomous sample manipulation. Drilling to 1000m depth. Visual servoing/approach to multiple targets in single command cycle.

AUTONOMOUS TRAVERSE:Autonomous traverse, obstacle avoidance, and position estimation relative to the starting position. Single vehicle to access all terrain types, cover long distances, and carry/deploy a

payload.

ONBOARD SCIENCE:Autonomous processing of science data onboard the rover system, for intelligent data compression, prioritization, anomaly recognition. Human level cognition and perception of science opportunities.

cameras & spectrometer

drilling & scoopingprocessing and caching

SAMPLING:Sampling, sample processing, and sample caching through development of controls for new system components.

Challenges: Lunar Characteristics

• Gravitational Characteristics

• Low gravity: 1/6 Earth’s - low energy locomotion

• Rotational/Orbital Characteristics

• Communications easy from near side, difficult from far side, periodic at poles

• Long days, long nights: 14.6 days light, 14.6 days dark

• Sun skims horizon at poles

• Permanent shadows in polar craters

• Earth-to-Moon Characteristics

• 2.5 second round-trip speed-of-light delay

Challenges: Lunar Characteristics

• Impact Craters

• Microcraters: 10-8 - 10-3 meters

• Regolith craters: 10-2 - 103 meters

• Large craters/Impact basins - 102 - 106 meters

• Volcanic Channels, Collapsed Lava Tubes, Mountains

• Regolith

• 2-8 meters deep in maria regions

• 15 meters deep in lunar highlands

• Dust

• Extremely fine, electrostatically charged

Capability Trends

Time Estimates for Space Robotics

202095%95%

80%70%

Multi-modalcommunicationBehavior tracking

Percent of interactionsinterpreted correctly byrobot

20203-5<<1Human-Robot FieldScienceCo-located Interaction

# robots supervised perhuman

202010’s7Instrument Placement,Human-RobotInteraction

Autonomously controlledmanipulator degrees offreedom

2020<20>100Field ScienceCommand cycles tosurvey/characterize site

200913-6Instrument Placement,Field Science

Command cycles persample acquired

Dozens

10’scms

VL1

100m1km

SOA

20131-2Field ScienceCommand cycles persample processed

20092015

1km10km

Autonomous NavigationAerial Traverse

Distance traveled per day

2015>VL2,cliffs,craters

Autonomous NavigationDifficulty of terrain that isaccessible

201310-20 msSub-Surface AccessDrilling depth

AvailableTargetValue

Technology /Sub-Capability

Metric

EXAMPLE: Rover Metrics

Mobile Robot Range (meters)

10 100 1000 10000

VL2

50% slope

1

VL1

Cliff-hanger

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Sojourner

Nanorover

Cliff-bot

Dante IIRobot WorkCrew

LSR

Inflatable Rover

MSL

NOMADHyperion

10 + commands peroperational cycle

3 - 10 commands /ops cycle

1 - 3 commands /ops cycleSelf-righting

2 kg rover

7 Kg, 1 meter footprint,composite construction,

lightweight rover

15 kg, 1.5 meterwheel, 50 cm/sec

70+ degree navigablecliff descent / ascent

Extensible cooperativemulti-robot work

system

Tethered crater descent

Background image:MER 2 with Sojourner model



Reconfigurable rover,

40- 50 degree slope

access (in simulated

sample cache transfer)



Limbed excursion robot for surface

and space structures — has

changeable end effector

sensing/tooling

LEMUR 1



Autonomous urban

recon rebot

URBIE

MER

Sample

Return

Rover

LEMUR, JPL

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Sortie Missions: Robotics

Proximate Telepresence• In many missions, the humans will be near the robots but will be

supervising them from a safe distance (e.g., in a habitat or on orbit). To facilitate the interaction, the robots should have capabilities similar to humans (especially in terms of manipulation) and the level of control between robots and humans should be highly flexible (“sliding autonomy”). Situational awareness of the supervisor needs to be high, which can be facilitated with both multi-modal feedback and high-level interpretation (by the robot) of sensor data. Safeguarding to prevent harm to the robots is critical.

Shoulder-to-Shoulder Interaction• In some missions, humans and robots will be co-located on site, working

together. At a basic level, the robots will need to understand and communicate with the astronauts using both speech and gesture. In addition, in many cases they will need to infer (without communication) the behaviors and intentions of the astronauts and alter their activities accordingly to support the astronauts’ goals. Safeguarding to prevent harm to the humans is critical. (Some risk)

• NASA-JSC Boudreaux– an Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) Robotic Assistant

• Specific sub-capabilities include:– Site development (survey, excavation, resource deployments)

– Site maintenance (inspection, repair, assembly, materials transport)

– In situ resource production (robotic support to extraction, transport, manufacturing)

– Field logistics and operations support (materials & equipment transport & warehousing)

– Human-robot interaction (H/R task allocation, teleoperation, remote supervisory control, etc.)

Surface EVA Assistance

JSC



Why EVA robots must assist humans

• Humans are necessary for surface EVAs– Adaptability, Intelligence, Dexterity

• Robots are necessary for surface EVAs– Pack mule, extra hand, situational awareness

– Put robots at risk instead of humans

JSC



Robot Capabilities• Have a robot assist an astronaut in deploying science

instruments (e.g. geophones)

• Various forms of interaction: voice commanding, gesture recognition, dialogue, full autonomous mode, traded autonomy

• Various forms of Capabilities: mobility, manipulation, autonomous traversal of rugged terrain, tracking of suited crew member

Robonaut, JSC

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Benefits for Sortie Missions

• Robotic ISRU, robotic precursor preparation and ongoing robotic mission support are enabling for due to impact on sustainability and affordability.

• Human safety is enhanced through precursor robotic site preparation.

• Field operations productivity is enhanced through robotic “mule” support and robotic mobile communication networking.

• Astronaut productivity is enhanced by lowering maintenance and inspection overhead assigned to human crew.

• Ground-crew interaction productivity is enhanced by improved human-robot interfaces.

Summary State-of-the-Art

• Robotics has not been used for lunar exploration.

• State-of-art can be indirectly measured from sub-capabilities with terrestrial deployment, TRL6 and below:

– Site development: Autonomous robotic excavation and site shaping has been demonstrate by joint CMU – Caterpillar front loader system.

– Site development: Communication infrastructure deployment by various university research groups in the DARPA Centibots program has set up networks using robot teams in unexplored urban areas.

– Site maintenance: Dexterous manipulation under teleoperation has been demonstrated in analog environments by both Ranger and Robonaut research teams with astronaut glove-level dexterity and 6x slowdown.

– Field logistics and operations support: Long-distance autonomous navigation has been demonstrated on the order of 100km total distance traveled.

– Field logistics and operations support: Architectures for perception, planning and control have demonstrated efficacy in Mars-analog tests at JPL and Ames.

Deliverables for Capability

Major Decision Major Event / Accomplishment / Milestone Ready to UseEnhancing/Evolutionary

2005 2010 2015

(2017)Mars ISRUExperiment

(2015)Spiral 2 Lunar

Surface Ops

10.6.1 Human-robot interaction

10.6.2 Field logistics and operations support

10.6.3 Robotics for ISRU

10.6.4 Site development and maintenance

10.6 Robotics for Lunar and Planetary Habitation

Adjustable autonomy,visualization for humansupervision

TRL 4

CRL 7

CRL 7

Networking, roboticaccess, long-distance nav,planning

Excavation, facility setupISRU system management

Site survey,manipulationdefect detection, etc

Terrain shaping,facility mgmnt

CRL 7

CRL 7

Agent-based Human-robot InterfaceArchitectures

Dexterous manipulationteleop interfaces

TRL 2-5

Integ. planning &execution; reliable

behaviors; long-range nav

TRL 2-5

Terrain shaping

ISRU Facility mgmnt

TRL 3-5

Site Survey & SIFTVisualization

Metrics for Sortie Missions

?

~ 1

<<10%

96%(MER)

<100m

> 10

SOA

20203+Human-robotinteraction

Maximum parallelhuman-robotsupervisions

2015?Robotics for ISRUCubic metersexcavation perhour

2012< 3Site development& maintenance

# humaninterventions per task

20201000m+Field logistics andoperationssupport

Average distancenavigated perhuman intervention

202099%Field logistics andoperationssupport

Proportion ofnavigation goalsachieved

200825%Human-robotinteraction

% reduction ofhuman cognitive load

AvailableTargetValue

Technology /Sub-Capability

Metric

Conclusions

NASA manned and unmanned missions will be carrying out increasingly challenging tasks on the lunar surface:

• Habitat construction and long term habitation• Mining and in-situ resource utilization• Deep drilling• Scientific laboratory tests currently done only on earth• Biological and habitability analysis

Robotics is key for providing both enabling and enhancing capabilities necessary for achieving the goals of these future missions.

Documents

ROBOTICS AND LUNAR EXPLORATION Ayanna M. Howard, Ph.D. Human-Automation Systems Lab School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Georgia Institute of