Open Robotics Challenges in Emerging On-Orbit Applications CONFERS 2018 GLOBAL SATELLITE SERVICING FORUM JONATHAN BOHREN, PHD NOVEMBER 8TH, 2018 Company Brief Honeybee Robotics is a U.S. research engineering and product development company focused on orbital operations and planetary exploration. ◦ Four locations distributed across the United States: ◦ Longmont, CO – Headquarters, flight systems development and manufacturing ◦ Pasadena, CA – Geotechnical exploration systems and mechatronics engineering for harsh environments ◦ Brooklyn, NY – Integrated perception, mechatronics, and autonomy for complete robotic systems ◦ Phoenix, AZ – System modeling, embedded electronics, and control systems ◦ A wholly-owned subsidiary of Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc. ◦ Sister companies supporting integration and manufacturing include: ◦ Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense – Energetics, flight systems, and manufacturing supply chain ◦ Avior Control Technologies – Harsh environment actuators ◦ TiNi Aerospace – Shape Memory Alloy mechanisms 2 Entering a new era in orbital robotics… For nearly 50 years, on-orbit robots have been operated by government agencies: ◦ NASA & DoD ◦ NASDA/JAXA, DLR, CSA, ESA, CNSA, etc. SRMS & SSRMS1 ROTEXROKVISS2 3 The market is now attracting significant SPDM interest from commercial entities: ◦ Servicing businesses, ROKVISS4 ◦ Satellite bus providers, JEM SFA5 ◦ On-orbit manufacturing, ◦ Space mining, and 6 ◦ Space tourism Robonaut2 1: Credit: NASA 3: Credit: NASA 5: Credit: JAXA 2: Credit: DLR 4: Credit: DLR 6: Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center 3 Milestone Servicing Demonstrations NASDA’s ETS-VII1 DARPA’s Orbital Express2 ISS Resupply3 NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission4 First satellite with robotic arm; RPO, docking, fluid and ORU Autonomous RPO ISS-based demo of Satellite Refueling proximity ops, docking, and transfer - 2007 during ISS resupply Technology for legacy satellite hardware manipulation - 1997 missions – since not meant to be serviced – since 2011 2010 1: Credit: JAXA 3: Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center 2: Credit: DARPA 4: Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 4 Robotic Manipulation is Necessary for Most Future Servicing Applications Mission Extension/Refueling & Repair In-Space Manufacturing & Assembly Reconfigurable/Upgradeable Platforms Orbital Debris Management 1: Credit: Northrop Grumman 3: Credit: NASA 5: Credit: SSL/MDA, NASA JPL 7: Credit: Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd 2: Credit: Effective Space 4: Credit: Made In Space 6: Credit: SSL/MDA, Tethers Unlimited 8: Credit: https://historicspacecraft.com/Rockets_Upper_Stage.html 5 Technological Challenges Computational Complexity ◦ Rapid evolution of autonomous capabilities over the last decade has been enabled by faster and lower power COTS computational hardware (multithreading, DDR SDRAM, PCI-Express, GPGPU, etc.) ◦ Machine perception (both model-based and data-based) ◦ Real-time (KHz+) coordinated control of high-degree-of-freedom mechatronic systems ◦ Motion and task planning in large state spaces ◦ Incorporating comparable computational resources on-orbit drives cost Telemetry Bandwidth, Latency, and Availability ◦ Complex strategies are needed to support reliable and efficient teleoperation and mitigate effects of telemetry degradation 6 Technological Challenges Ground and Virtual V&V for Orbital Robotics ◦ Terrestrial (1-g) operation of robotic manipulators without offloading necessitates design with significant parasitic mass and power ◦ There are no ideal solutions for offloading ◦ Neutral buoyancy – conflates design requirements, adds unrealistic viscous damping ◦ Air bearing tables – restricts configuration and/or task space ◦ Overhead cables – restricts space / difficult to offload exactly ◦ Simulations are often doomed to succeed (i.e. not always informative) ◦ Accurate simulations require a great deal of amount of subsystem characterization ◦ Computationally complex to generate accurate dynamic responses, and tend to be extremely sensitive to initial conditions 7 Industry Challenges On-Orbit Robotics Certification Criteria ◦ Robotic spacecraft will process higher-dimensionality signals and necessitate greater logical complexity, which increases certification complexity ◦ Commercial activities not subject to government management will need to come to consensus on standards for “orbit-safe” robotics Standard Interfaces to Enable Interoperability ◦ Defining open standards for physical and logical interfaces will encourage a healthy and competitive on-orbit robotics market ◦ Focusing on use of standard sensors and specific computational platforms will more rapidly establish heritage 8 Our Interests ◦ Already has a broad satellite mechatronics product portfolio including: ◦ Solar Array Drive Actuators, Pointing, and Deployment Mechanisms ◦ Control Moment Gyroscopes ◦ Encoders, Slip Rings, and Twist Capsules ◦ Rad-hard Motion Control Electronics and other modules ◦ End-effector, Tool-change, and Low-Profile Electromechanical Grapple Interfaces ◦ Open to discussions and collaboration around standards for: ◦ Soft- and hard-dock electromechanical, end-effector, and power/data interfaces ◦ V&V simulation frameworks for analysis and certification ◦ On-orbit servicing system interoperability standards ◦ Actively developing novel mechatronic, sensor, and logical systems to support future needs of the on-orbit servicing community 9 Thank You! Jonathan Bohren, PhD Senior Roboticist, Honeybee Robotics Brooklyn, New York, USA [email protected] www.HoneybeeRobotics.com Honeybee Robotics is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc. 10.