Clean Orbital Robotic Arm - COBRA

The next generation of space-based observatories will benefit from robotic servicing however their performance requires cleanliness not available in state-of-the-art robotics. In addition to telescopes, other applications for ISAM requiring high levels of cleanliness include Silicon-germanium (SiGe) crystal manufacturing and space-based biotechnology. COBRA is a unique architecture which provides a completely sterilizable robot arm which, by design, creates no debris. The hyper redundant kinematic nature of COBRA is modular in two degree of freedom (2-DOF) segments resulting in an “n-DOF” arm as it can be configured to any length desired. Motiv’s 6-DOF customizable force torque sensors can be placed at both the distal and proximal ends of the arm in addition to torque sensing at each joint. That level of sensing can result in high fidelity compliance control. Typically, hyper redundant manipulators are disadvantageous in an Earth gravity environment due to their increased mass relative to conventional configurations and a resulting inability to support their own mass. However, this is not a concern in a micro gravity environment. COBRA is a hyper redundant arm completely sealed in an impermeable barrier. Various methods exist to determine levels of cleanliness of a robotic arm and ensure that an arm is sufficiently clean for ultra-clean environments involves a combination of particle detection, surface analysis, and chemical residue testing. The proposed configuration of COBRA presents a straightforward approach to the inspection methods described above as it is a hermetically sealed device with all exterior surfaces exposed for inspection and aggressive cleaning methods. The scalable and modular COBRA system will deliver the clean robotics NASA requires in a short time while also seeding a commercial market for future ISAM activities.

The primary application for COBRA at the present time is the servicing of astronomical observatories in space. COBRA generates no debris from operations, making it ideal for work around highly sensitive telescopes. Additionally, COBRA is waterproof and can be sterilized at any time meaning other possible tasks like experiment or crop tending are ideal tasks for it. Underwater robotics Nuclear power plant inspection Robotics in chemically toxic environments Robotics in potentially explosive areas where intrinsically safe devices are mandated

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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