AUTONOMOUS AND SEMI-AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS LIKE UNMANNED SPACECRAFT OR ROBOTIC VEHICLES HAVE FILLED CRITICAL ROLES IN NASA S GREAT SUCCESSES SURVIVING THE HARSH ENVIRONS THAT LIE OUTSIDE EARTH S PROTECTIVE ATMOSPHERE. BEYOND ROBOTIC MISSIONS TODAY NASA IS INVESTIGATING ROBOTS THAT HAVE CAPABILITIES SIMILAR TO HUMANS SUCH AS NASA S RESEARCH PLATFORMS ROBONAUT 2 (R2) AND VALKYRIE. ROBOTS LIKE R2 AND VALKYRIE COULD PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE PERSISTENT CARE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT WHILE THERE ARE HUMANS PRESENT AND WHEN NOT. A FUTURE ROBOTIC TEAM COULD LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR HUMAN ARRIVAL ON MARS FREEING PRECIOUS TIME FOR SCIENTIFIC MISSION GOALS. THIS PROPOSAL AIMS TO DESIGN AN INTERFACE AND THE TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY TO FORMULATE AND PLAN FOR COMPLEX TASKS ON COMPLICATED HUMANOID ROBOTS OPERATING IN SPACE.

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators