Advanced Modeling Tools for Controlling Complex Assets Across Time Delay

The proposed innovation is a hybrid simulation module to replace the current "Behavioral Sim" in JSC's Predictive Interactive Graphical Interface (PIGI). PIGI helps an operator compensate for lunar-scale time delay, and is part of NASA's "RAPID Workbench". The Behavioral Sim acts as an oracle, taking initial conditions and a sequence of commands and producing trajectories and expected final location of the robot. We propose to provide functionality to extend PIGI to manipulation activities. This includes modeling the robot's manipulation and perception capabilities and its environment. We will use NASA's R2 robot operating on ISS as our test case.

The Department of Defense deploys large numbers of unmanned vehicles, all of which could benefit from increased capabilities in their operator control units. In particular, our work will provide greater situational awareness to the operators and enable them to explore the effects of actions before actually committing the commands. Congress has mandated that one-third of all military vehicles must be unmanned by 2015. Robotic customers such as US Army TACOM, US Navy SPAWAR, NAVEODTECHDIV, Joint Ground Robotics Enterprise (JGRE), as well as major robotics contractors such as iRobot and QinetiQ are striving to deliver more autonomy in their systems. Together these markets total several thousand potential licenses -- one for each platform. TRACLabs Inc. is a member of the JRGE-sponsored Robotics Technology Consortium (RTC), which gives us access to government and industry robotics customers.

Lunar Surface Systems (LSS). This program is developing concepts for lunar habitation and robotics infrastructure. Hardware testbeds such as the Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) and the Lunar Electric Rover (LER) are being produced and tested in analog environments. Our work will flow immediately into these tests, greatly enhancing remote commanding capabilities across time delay. LSS contacts are Dr. Robert Ambrose of NASA Johnson Space Center and Dr. Terry Fong of NASA Ames Research Center. NASA is also deploying the R2 robot to ISS in the near future. This work will be directly applicable to control of R2 from a ground controllers station. R2 contacts are Dr. Ron Diftler, Dr. William Bluethmann and Dr. Kimberly Hambuchen all of NASA JSC. NASA has already deployed the Dextre robot to ISS and it is currently in operation. We will explore the use of our robot operator interface with the Dextre robot in mission control. TRACLabs has substantial contacts within MOD for our other work and we will utilize those contacts to explore the potential for applying this technology to Dextre.

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