← Back to NASA Technology Projects

Human-In-The-Loop Control of a Bipedal Robot with Variable Levels of Autonomy

Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)

Description

Bipedal robots have a growing presence in space exploration and industrial applications because they can more easily and safely perform complex tasks in environments designed for human users than their traditional mobile wheeled counterparts. However, the increased number of degrees of actuation and sensing make bipedal robots unwieldy for human operators to directly teleoperate. The objective of this study is to design, implement, and test interfaces that will allow human operators to efficiently generate movement patterns for, gather feedback from, and moderate such robots at levels ranging from individual joints to multiple robots.

Benefits

This study aims to design, implement, and test interfaces that will allow human operators to efficiently generate movement patterns for, gather feedback from, and moderate bipedal robots at levels ranging from individual joints to multiple robots.

Details

Technology areaRobotic Systems > Human and Robot Interaction > Multimodal and Proximate Interaction
ProgramSpace Technology Research Grants (STRG)
Lead organizationRice University, Houston, TX
Start date2011-08-01
End date2014-05-22

Project contacts

Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.

How to get involved

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.