MULTISENSORY REAL-TIME SPACE TELEROBOTICS. DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF REAL-TIME TELEROBOTICS SYSTEMS FOR SPACE EXPLORATION 1 3 Marta Ferraz , Edmundo Ferreira2, Thomas Krueger 1European Space Agency, Human-Robot Interaction Lab, Netherlands, E-mail:
[email protected] 2European Space Agency, Human-Robot Interaction Lab, Netherlands, E-mail:
[email protected] 3European Space Agency, Human-Robot Interaction Lab, Netherlands, E-mail:
[email protected] space environments. The rationale in support of this ABSTRACT later argument is the difficulties in achieving human We introduce a research project whose goal is the exploration - due to current technical limitations on development and analysis of real-time telerobotic spacecraft and EVA technology (i.e., spacesuits) [31]. control setups for space exploration in stationary orbit Another key goal of space telerobotics has been and from deep-space habitats. We suggest a new preparing direct human space exploration - approach to real-time space telerobotics - Multisensory terraforming planetary bodies in order to support Real-time Space Telerobotics - in order to improve human expedition and, ultimately, Earth-like life [34]. perceptual functions in operators and surpass sensorimotor perturbations caused by altered gravity Lately, there has been a strong investment on the conditions. We submit that telerobotic operations, in preparation of Crew Surface Telerobotics (CST) such conditions, can be improved by offering enhanced missions for space exploration - the crew remotely sources of sensory information to the operator: operates surface robots from a spacecraft or deep-space combined visual, auditory, chemical and habitats [10]. These missions include Moon, Mars and somatosensory stimuli. We will characterize and Near-Earth Asteroid exploration [4, 16, 34].