Tensegrity Underwater Robot for Traversing Liquid Environments (TURTLE)

This work propose a cross-center collaboration with JPL (Robotic Vehicles and Manipulators Group) to develop a novel robotic system that can perform observations and measurements at, and across, surface/liquid environment boundaries at bodies of liquid on Titan. This innovation will improve current systems for amphibious underwater navigation and monitoring of dense fluids and can be applicable for robotic science missions to terrestrial and planetary destinations such as the oceans underneath the surface of icy moons, the upper atmosphere of Venus, and waterbodies on our planet. This effort with develop a robotic system that can use shape-shifting capabilities and changes in buoyancy to actively and efficiently float through liquid like a jellyfish and walk on the fluid’s bed. This underwater robot will also inherit properties from our current NIAC/GCD-funded research on land tensegrity robots to enable a multimodal amphibious platform for science missions at, and across, surface/liquid environment boundaries.

Exploration of waterbodies using UAVs or sub-sea gliders [1], but inefficient navigation, possible damage to ecosystem, and potential for contamination of in-situ measurements. Limited examples using non-traditional robots (e.g. soft-robotic jellyfish, anguilliform robot), but still under research. Existing work on ground locomotion using tensegrity robots.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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