Control and Deployment of Science Instrument Payloads for Tensegrity Robots

NASA is studying tensegrity robots that offer lightweight multifunctional capabilities for planetary exploration because they can A) collapse and deploy to make efficient use of stowed volume, B) absorb and distribute impact, acting much like an airbag during landing to protect a payload, and C) be actively actuated to provide mobility once on the surface, reducing or eliminating the mass fraction of landing platforms that are left behind after egress. Biological locomotion and animal physiology are also theorized to take advantage of tensegrity principles. Given their ability to absorb significant impact shocks (such as landing), and variable structural compliance, tensegrity robots are well suited for extreme terrain mobility. To date, technology development for tensegrity robotic landers have focused on mechatronics and controls for locomotion, and analysis and design for surviving landing impacts. Simulations and laboratory drop tests validated that payloads suspended within a tensegrity lander would benefit from shock protection, but no meaningful studies have been conducted on the deployment and active control of a payload for science purposes. This CIF will focus on the fundamental question of whether a tensegrity robot can successfully deploy and manage the active use of a science payload.

We will develop notional instrument package positioning and control requirements from potential sciences users, such as the USGS Volcano Hazards Program and the SMD Cryosphere program. This will lead to simulation studies using NTRT (NASA Tensegrity Robotics Toolkit) to explore design and control strategies for the active deployment and placement control of a science payload within a tensegrity robot. Finally we will conduct experiments on active control of science payload placement using the new SUPERball 2.0 prototype. These experiments will allow us to validate our simulation studies and to refine our understanding of how tensegrity landers can support mission science activities.

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