The goal of the Robonaut 2 (R2) Technology Project Element within Human Robotic Systems (HRS) is to developed advanced technologies for infusion into the Robonaut 2 project leading to new capabilities for Robonaut. In FY14, HRS and the Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM) Human Exploration Telerobotics (HET) will collaborate to deliver a mobile IVA Robonaut 2 to ISS.

During 2014, the “Robonaut 2 Technologies” project element will develop two technologies:

• Mobile IVA Robonaut 2
• Natural User Interfaces for Advanced Telerobotic Operations

The primary work area in this project element is to contribute to sending a mobile IVA Robonaut to the International Space Station (ISS) and to begin using it as a mobile system.  The main area where HRS will contribute to Robonaut 2 in FY14 will be in the area of battery development.  HRS will perform component testing of the engineering development unit (EDU) and complete assembly of the certification unit battery. The development will eventually lead to a robotic system moving and working safely in the same space as Astronauts on ISS. 

The second work area under this project element will be to use body-tracking input devices (i.e. Microsoft Xbox Kinect and accelerometer gloves) to immerse an operator in an accurate virtual model of the robot’s environment, capture the intent of the operator, and safely execute mobility and manipulation tasks suitable for platforms such as Robonaut 2. Initially, the operator’s head position will be tracked in order to render an appropriate point of view in the virtual environment. Next, model-based recognizers will be developed and trained to detect gestures by the human operator and trigger autonomous behaviors on the robotic system. Initial efforts will use the Kinect sensor, with additional potential investigations into other similar or complementary sensors.

In FY14, development will focus on further extending our natural user interface system to address the concurrent operation of manipulation and mobility aspects of hybrid robotic systems such as Robonaut 2 with legs (ground only in FY14) or an ATHLETE robot driving while manipulating a payload.

This element involves the development of software that enables easier commanding of a wide range of NASA relevant robots through the Robot Application Programming Interface Delegate (RAPID) robot messaging system and infusing the developed software into flight projects.  In June and July of 2013, RAPID was tested on ISS as the robot messaging software for the Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM) Human Exploration Telerobotics (HET) Surface Telerobotics experiment.  RAPID has also been made available to — and integrated with — the Robot Operating System (ROS), a popular software framework for developing state-of-the-art robots for ground and space. While ROS powers a number of new robots and components such as Robonaut 2’s climbing legs and R5, the addition of RAPID allows these robots to interoperate in collaborative human-robot teams, safely and effectively over time-delayed communications links. The objective this year is to take this space-tested software and extend it to providing video streaming from remote robots and delivering this new capability to the Exploration Ground Data Systems (xGDS) area within HRS.  xGDS will then deliver its software to Science Mission Directorate (SMD) funded field tests to improve the technology readiness moving leading (potentially) to being used for the Lunar Prospector Mission ground data systems.  Success will involve delivering RAPID to xGDS and then xGDS supporting SMD field test.

The team is also developing algorithms for sensors capable of reconstructing remote worlds and efficiently shipping that remote environment back to earth using the RAPID robot messaging system.  This type of system could eventually lead to scientists on earth gain new insights as they are able to step into the remote world.  This sensor also has the ability to engage the public, bringing remote worlds back to earth.  During FY13, this task used science operations personnel from current SMD projects to objectively measure improvement in remote science target selection and decision-making based. The team continues to work with SMD projects to ensure that the technologies being developed are directly responsive to SMD project personnel needs. The objective of this work in FY14 is to expand the range of science operations tasks addressed by the technology, and to perform laboratory demonstrations for JPL/SMD stakeholders of the immersive visualization of data from a sensor using an SMD representative environment.

During 2014, the “Controlling Robots Over Time Delay” project element will develop two technologies:

• Develop RAPID robot messaging for unified cross-center operations platform for TDM, xGDS, and CCSDS
• Sensor Systems for the Construction of Immersive Virtual Environments