Telerobotic Perception during Asteroid and Mars Regolith Operations, Year 3

Low illumination and low angle of incidence lighting pose significant problems to computer vision and human perception. Levitated dust on Asteroids interferes with imaging and degrades depth perception. Dust Storms on Mars pose a significant problem. Due to these factors, the likely performance of telerobotics is poorly understood for future missions. Current space telerobotic systems are only operated in bright lighting and dust-free conditions. Study the effect of difficult lighting and dust conditions on Telerobotic Perception Systems to better assess and refine regolith operations for asteroid, Mars and polar lunar missions.

Better assess and refine regolith operations for asteroid, Mars and polar lunar missions. In telerobotic systems, sensors, cameras and other optic elements suffer from pixel saturation and bloom with associated recovery times. Coupled with a decreased perceived contrast and erratic daylight cycles, asteroid missions will have to overcome, or compensate for these effects. This study will have a direct impact on both human habitation and the extraction of in-situ resources using autonomous systems. The study will also highlight shortfalls prior to deployment for automated systems and identify physiological hazards. Thus, the study has potential to significantly influence design of telerobotic perception systems and operations for future exploration missions.

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