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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

Algorithms and Sensors for Small Robot Path Following

Tracked mobile robots in the 20 kg size class are under development for applications in urban reconnaissance. For efficient deployment, it is desirable for teams of robots to be able to automatically execute path following behaviors, with one or more followers tracking the path taken by a leader. The key challenges to enabling such a capability are (l) to develop sensor packages for such small robots that can accurately determine the path of the leader and (2) to develop path following algorithms for the subsequent robots. To date, we have integrated gyros, accelerometers, compass/inclinometers, odometry, and differential GPS into an effective sensing package. This paper describes the sensor package, sensor processing algorithm, and path tracking algorithm we have developed for the leader/follower problem in small robots and shows the result of performance characterization of the system. We also document pragmatic lessons learned about design, construction, and electromagnetic interference issues particular to the performance of state sensors on small robots.

path following↗
NASA NTRS2000

Vision-Guided Autonomous Stair Climbing

The Tactical Mobile Robot (TMR) program calls for autonomous mobility in an urban environment. Among all man-made structures which pose as barriers for a mobile robot, stairs are the most obvious and ubiquitous structure an autonomous urban robot needs to be able to handle.

Mobile↗
NASA NTRS1995

Hazardous-Materials Robot

Remotely controlled mobile robot used to locate, characterize, identify, and eventually mitigate incidents involving hazardous-materials spills/releases. Possesses number of innovative features, allowing it to perform mission-critical functions such as opening and unlocking doors and sensing for hazardous materials. Provides safe means for locating and identifying spills and eliminates risks of injury associated with use of manned entry teams. Current version of vehicle, called HAZBOT III, also features unique mechanical and electrical design enabling vehicle to operate safely within combustible atmosphere.

Stone, Henry W.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Head Pose Estimation Using Multilinear Subspace Analysis for Robot Human Awareness

Mobile robots, operating in unconstrained indoor and outdoor environments, would benefit in many ways from perception of the human awareness around them. Knowledge of people's head pose and gaze directions would enable the robot to deduce which people are aware of the its presence, and to predict future motions of the people for better path planning. To make such inferences, requires estimating head pose on facial images that are combination of multiple varying factors, such as identity, appearance, head pose, and illumination. By applying multilinear algebra, the algebra of higher-order tensors, we can separate these factors and estimate head pose regardless of subject's identity or image conditions. Furthermore, we can automatically handle uncertainty in the size of the face and its location. We demonstrate a pipeline of on-the-move detection of pedestrians with a robot stereo vision system, segmentation of the head, and head pose estimation in cluttered urban street scenes.

Ivanov, Tonislav↗
DOE OSTI2024

300_underground robot (final research report)

Recent advancements in mobile robotics have displayed impressive capabilities in traversing and accessing areas that are inaccessible to humans either due to the characteristics of the environment or potential hazards. Furthermore, these advancements within the field of mobile robotics, more specifically uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), give the ability to potentially survey, observe, and map these inaccessible areas for humans. However, one of the most challenging areas to implement this technology is underground environments. The main challenge with implementing this technology in underground environments is the dependence on either GPS or RF communication for UGVs to navigate properly. Therefore, in order to properly demonstrate the mapping capabilities of the UGV this challenge must be resolved. The overall goal of this study is to demonstrate the mapping capabilities of a UGV while addressing this challenge and documenting the implementation and testing phase of the robot. The proposed solution to this challenge is to implement a SLAM algorithm onto the main computational device of the UGV utilizing the Robot Operating System (ROS). The algorithm is the open-source software package Slam Toolbox developed by Steve Macenski. Furthermore, the sllidar_ros2 package from Slamtec will be used to gather the lidar data from an A3M1 2D lidar. A separate program will be created to gather odometry information for our UGV robot. All of these software packages will run together in a Docker environment. Through working on this project I have developed a better understanding of the world of robotics/autonomous systems, especially with applications such as navigation and mapping. Furthermore, through this project, I have been given exposure to how research is conducted within a DOE lab setting. As robotics/autonomous systems become more advanced it's important to pursue more avenues of research such as this project as it will ensure the development of our capabilities.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2013

Robonaut 2 on the International Space Station: Status Update and Preparations for IVA Mobility

Robotics engineers, ground controllers and International Space Station (ISS) crew have been running successful experiments using Robonaut 2 (R2) on-board the ISS for more than a year. This humanoid upper body robot continues to expand its list of achievements and its capabilities to safely demonstrate maintenance and servicing tasks while working alongside human crewmembers. The next phase of the ISS R2 project will transition from a stationary Intra Vehicular Activity (IVA) upper body using a power/data umbilical, to an IVA mobile system with legs for repositioning, a battery backpack power supply, and wireless communications. These upgrades will enable the R2 team to evaluate hardware performance and to develop additional control algorithms and control verification techniques with R2 inside the ISS in preparation for the Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) phase of R2 operations. As R2 becomes more capable in assisting with maintenance tasks, with minimal supervision, including repositioning itself to different work sites, the ISS crew will be burdened with fewer maintenance chores, leaving them more time to conduct other activities. R2's developers at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) are preparing the R2 IVA mobility hardware and software upgrades for delivery to the ISS in late 2013. This paper summarizes R2 ISS achievements to date, briefly describes the R2 IVA mobility upgrades, and discusses the R2 IVA mobility objectives and plans.

Ahlstrom, Thomas D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Initial Results from Vision-based Control of the Marsokhod Rover

A geologist characterizing a field site typically wanders from one interesting geologic feature to another. Performing geology remotely with a mobile robot, we have observed the same behavior: geologists see a visually-interesting feature and wish to approach it for closer inspection. To date, navigating a mobile robot to a visually-interesting feature has been accomplished by driving to a location close to the feature. This introduces two problems: assigning a location to the feature and navigating the rover to that location. In practice, solutions to both of these problems are susceptable to positional error. Fundamentally, we can see where we want the robot to go, but it is difficult to precisely quantify where either the target or the robot are located. The development of vision-based control of robot manipulators suggests an alternative approach for mobile robot explorers. We have developed a vision-based control system that enables the Marsokhod rover to drive to within sampling distance of visually-designated rock or natural feature. We will describe this system and our initial results using it during a field experiment in the Painted Desert of Arizona.

Wettergreen, David↗
NASA NTRS1997

Health Care Robotics: A Progress Report

This paper describes the approach followed in the design of a service robot for health care applications. Under the auspices of the NASA Technology Transfer program, a partnership was established between JPL and RWI, a manufacturer of mobile robots, to design and evaluate a mobile robot for health care assistance to the elderly and the handicapped. The main emphasis of the first phase of the project is on the development on a multi-modal operator interface and its evaluation by health care professionals and users. This paper describes the architecture of the system, the evaluation method used, and some preliminary results of the user evaluation.

handicapped mobile robots↗
NASA NTRS1994

Tele-assistance for semi-autonomous robots

This paper describes a new approach in semi-autonomous mobile robots. In this approach the robot has sufficient computerized intelligence to function autonomously under a certain set of conditions, while the local system is a cooperative decision making unit that combines human and machine intelligence. Communication is then allowed to take place in a common mode and in a common language. A number of exception-handling scenarios that were constructed as a result of experiments with actual sensor data collected from two mobile robots were presented.

Rogers, Erika↗
NASA NTRS1990

Knowledge/geometry-based Mobile Autonomous Robot Simulator (KMARS)

Ongoing applied research is focused on developing guidance system for robot vehicles. Problems facing the basic research needed to support this development (e.g., scene understanding, real-time vision processing, etc.) are major impediments to progress. Due to the complexity and the unpredictable nature of a vehicle's area of operation, more advanced vehicle control systems must be able to learn about obstacles within the range of its sensor(s). A better understanding of the basic exploration process is needed to provide critical support to developers of both sensor systems and intelligent control systems which can be used in a wide spectrum of autonomous vehicles. Elcee Computek, Inc. has been working under contract to the Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright Research and Development Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio to develop a Knowledge/Geometry-based Mobile Autonomous Robot Simulator (KMARS). KMARS has two parts: a geometry base and a knowledge base. The knowledge base part of the system employs the expert-system shell CLIPS ('C' Language Integrated Production System) and necessary rules that control both the vehicle's use of an obstacle detecting sensor and the overall exploration process. The initial phase project has focused on the simulation of a point robot vehicle operating in a 2D environment.

Cheng, Linfu↗
NASA NTRS1994

TRC research products: Components for service robots

Transitions Research Corporation has developed a variety of technologies to accomplish its central mission: the creation of commercially viable robots for the service industry. Collectively, these technologies comprise the TRC 'robot tool kit.' The company started by developing a robot base that serves as a foundation for mobile robot research and development, both within TRC and at customer sites around the world. A diverse collection of sensing techniques evolved more recently, many of which have been made available to the international mobile robot research community as commercial products. These 'tool-kit' research products are described in this paper. The largest component of TRC's commercial operation is a product called HelpMate for material transport and delivery in health care institutions.

Lob, W. Stuart↗
NASA NTRS1994

Design, characterization and control of the Unique Mobility Corporation robot

Space and mass are at a premium on any space mission, and thus any machinery designed for space use should be lightweight and compact, without sacrificing strength. It is for this reason that NASA/LeRC contracted Unique Mobility Corporation to exploit their novel actuator designs to build a robot that would advance the present state of technology with respect to these requirements. Custom-designed motors are the key feature of this robot. They are compact, high-performance dc brushless servo motors with a high pole count and low inductance, thus permitting high torque generation and rapid phase commutation. Using a custom-designed digital signal processor-based controller board, the pulse width modulation power amplifiers regulate the fast dynamics of the motor currents. In addition, the programmable digital signal processor (DSP) controller permits implementation of nonlinear compensation algorithms to account for motoring vs. regeneration, torque ripple, and back-EMF. As a result, the motors produce a high torque relative to their size and weight, and can do so with good torque regulation and acceptably high velocity saturation limits. This paper presents the Unique Mobility Corporation robot prototype: its actuators, its kinematic design, its control system, and its experimental characterization. Performance results, including saturation torques, saturation velocities and tracking accuracy tests are included.

Velasco, Virgilio B., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Research and development at ORNL/CESAR towards cooperating robotic systems for hazardous environments

One of the frontiers in intelligent machine research is the understanding of how constructive cooperation among multiple autonomous agents can be effected. The effort at the Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) focuses on two problem areas: (1) cooperation by multiple mobile robots in dynamic, incompletely known environments; and (2) cooperating robotic manipulators. Particular emphasis is placed on experimental evaluation of research and developments using the CESAR robot system testbeds, including three mobile robots, and a seven-axis, kinematically redundant mobile manipulator. This paper summarizes initial results of research addressing the decoupling of position and force control for two manipulators holding a common object, and the path planning for multiple robots in a common workspace.

Mann, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Mobile Autonomous Humanoid Assistant

A mobile autonomous humanoid robot is assisting human co-workers at the Johnson Space Center with tool handling tasks. This robot combines the upper body of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robonaut system with a Segway(TradeMark) Robotic Mobility Platform yielding a dexterous, maneuverable humanoid perfect for aiding human co-workers in a range of environments. This system uses stereo vision to locate human team mates and tools and a navigation system that uses laser range and vision data to follow humans while avoiding obstacles. Tactile sensors provide information to grasping algorithms for efficient tool exchanges. The autonomous architecture utilizes these pre-programmed skills to form human assistant behaviors. The initial behavior demonstrates a robust capability to assist a human by acquiring a tool from a remotely located individual and then following the human in a cluttered environment with the tool for future use.

Diftler, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Robotic vehicle mobility and task performance: A flexible control modality for manned systems

In the early 1980's, a number of concepts were developed for applying robotics to ground systems. The majority of these early application concepts envisioned robotics technology embedded in dedicated unmanned systems; i.e., unmanned systems with no provision for direct manned control of the platform. Although these concepts offered advantages peculiar to platforms designed from the outset exclusively for unmanned operation--i.e., no crew compartment--their findings would require costs and support for a new class of unmanned systems. The current era of reduced budgets and increasing focus on rapid force projection has created new opportunities to examine the value of an alternative concept: the use of existing manned platforms with an ability to quickly shift from normal manned operation to unmanned should a particularly harzardous situation arise. The author of this paper addresses the evolution of robotic vehicle concepts and technology testbeds from exclusively unmanned systems to a variety of 'optionally manned' systems which have been designed with minimum intrusion actuator and control equipment to minimize degradation of vehicle performance in manned modes of operation.

Eldredge, Frederick↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scaling Climbing Collaborative Mobile Manipulators (C2M2) for Outfitting a Tall Lunar Tower (TLT) and Truss Structures

In-space and planetary truss structures like the Tall Lunar Tower (TLT) can greatly benefit from truss climbing collaborative mobile manipulators (C-CMMs) for outfitting and other servicing tasks. Mobile robotic systems traversing these structures will allow for improved access to the structure for placing equipment and routing cables after the structure has been assembled. The robotic system described in the proposed paper is designed to provide access to the structure through collaborative mobile robotics. The paper will provide a method to constrain the design of such a robot via the geometry of the truss structure and the controlling joint torques across various gaits. The focus of the design is on a six-degree of freedom (DOF) robot arranged with two-DOF at each end and at the center. The variable features of this system are the actuators and the length of the links connecting the two-DOF modules. The result of the analysis is a link sizing range which the robot can be designed within to ensure functionality on the truss structure. A C-CMM will be designed using the scaling utility and several constructed to demonstrate operating both independently and collaboratively.

in-space assembly↗