Exploring planet geology through force-feedback telemanipulation from orbit

Abstract

Current space exploration roadmaps envision exploring the surface geology of celestial bodies with robots for both scientific research and in situ resource utilization. In such unstructured, poorly lit, complex, and remote environments, automation is not always possible, and some tasks, such as geological sampling, require direct teleoperation aided by force-feedback (FF). The operator would be on an orbiting spacecraft, and poor bandwidth, high latency, and packet loss from orbit to ground mean that safe, stable, and transparent interaction is a substantial technical challenge. For this scenario, a control method was developed that ensures stability at high delay without reduction in speed or loss of positioning accuracy. At the same time, a new level of safety is achieved not only through FF itself but also through an intrinsic property of the approach preventing hard impacts. On the basis of this method, a tele-exploration scenario was simulated in the Analog-1 experiment with an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) using a 6–degree-of-freedom (DoF) FF capable haptic input device to control a mobile robot with manipulator on Earth to collect rock samples. The 6-DoF FF telemanipulation from space was performed at a round-trip communication delay constantly between 770 and 850 milliseconds and an average packet loss of 1.27%. This experiment showcases the feasibility of a complete space exploration scenario via haptic telemanipulation under spaceflight conditions. The results underline the benefits of this control method for safe and accurate interactions and of haptic feedback in general.

Sensorimotor impairments during spaceflight: Trigger mechanisms and haptic assistance

“…In a first step, telerobotic systems will be used, in which astronauts remotely control robots on the celestial bodies from the safe environment of an orbital spacecraft. Thus, mobile robots can be navigated, and their robotic manipulators can be used to interact with the remote environment (e.g., Seedhouse and Llanos, 2021 ; Panzirsch et al, 2022 ). Apart from the huge technical challenges, the successful implementation of such scenarios depends, in particular, on the astronaut's sensorimotor skills.…”

Recent Progress in Advanced Tactile Sensing Technologies for Soft Grippers

“…[ 165,169 ] Aside from that, manipulators can also carry out tasks dexterously under dark conditions or underwater turbid environments on the basis of the effective control strategies. [ 170–172 ]…”

“…[165,169] Aside from that, manipulators can also carry out tasks dexterously under dark conditions or underwater turbid environments on the basis of the effective control strategies. [170][171][172] Heaps of commercial tactile sensors have been widely used in soft grippers owing to the advantages of stability, simple structures, and high cost performance. Murakami et al developed a simple fingertip with soft kin and a six-axis force/torque sensor that are commercially available now.…”

Robotic drilling for the Chinese Chang’E 5 lunar sample-return mission

“…Moreover, the mineral and chemical compositions, mechanical and thermophysical characteristics, and particle shape and size distribution of the lunar regolith are considerably different from those of Earth regolith (Mitchell et al 1972a; Woods-Robinson et al, 2019). Regolith sampling for in situ analysis using onboard instruments, or laboratory analyses after returning the samples to Earth, has always been an important objective in human lunar exploration activities (Anand 2014; Panzirsch et al, 2022). In the early 1970s, the Soviet Union and United States made significant scientific strides by analyzing lunar samples obtained from their Luna and Apollo projects, respectively (Zhang et al, 2019b).…”