SwRI is crafting solutions that integrate Earth-based industrial robotics with sophisticated automation and simulation to assist clients in crafting new capabilities for space's complex conditions, as highlighted by Meera Towler, an engineer leading SwRI's Space Robotics initiative.
The Space Symposium congregates global leaders to strategize the future of space. ISAM initiatives, supported by NASA and other entities, aim to create an agile space industry capable of deploying materials for robotic manufacturing and assembly in orbit. A critical step in this process is the development of Earth- and lunar-based test beds, along with research facilities on the Moon's surface.
Focusing on high-fidelity simulation, advanced perception, robotic manipulation in space, and extraterrestrial automated driving, SwRI's space robotics research is bolstered by their new Space Robotics Center, which features an air-bearing table, motion capture system, a seven degree-of-freedom robot arm, test fixtures, and more.
Software and modeling tools developed by engineers aid robots in planning motions for complex orbital conditions. SwRI is also advancing efficient low-power vision systems for lunar rovers and small aerial vehicles.
Dr. Steve Dellenback, vice president of SwRI's Intelligent Systems Division, expressed enthusiasm about sharing these R and D projects to facilitate the transition from today's energy-intensive Earth-based robots to a more sophisticated ISAM ecosystem, which will underpin the construction of future space infrastructure.
Among the key developments, SwRI demonstrated a physics-based simulation tool that improves robotics simulation packages for tackling challenges in object identification, trajectory tracking, and dynamic motion planning in space. The efficacy of these simulation models is tested using a robot arm on an air-bearing table at the Space Robotics Center.
Other innovations include deploying the Ranger localization system on lunar rovers with ground-facing cameras and automation software to navigate simulated regolith and utilizing caves as testing grounds for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) using stereo cameras for autonomous navigation.
Furthermore, SwRI has explored alternative navigation solutions such as using recurrent neural network algorithms for off-road navigation by estimating vehicle motion from camera images, inertial measurements, and wheel data.
In computing innovations, SwRI utilized a space-ready field programmable gate array (FPGA) to enhance object detection capabilities, surpassing commercial solutions and traditional space computers in performance. Evaluations of next-generation microprocessors for embedded spaceflight systems have shown that some space-ready FPGAs and an Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) processor provided superior performance with reduced energy consumption compared to legacy space processors.
SwRI's Intelligent Systems Division continues to lead in developing software, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and systems engineering solutions.
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