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This paper describes the work done in autonomous operation of mobile robot at the Canadian Space Agency. The Mobile Robotic Test bed (MRT) components are presented. The autonomy software, implemented using a behaviour-based approach, is presented. The peripheral sub-systems used by the reactive engine, such as vision and path planner are also described.

EXOMARS is a European-led space exploration mission, currently under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) that will send a robotic rover to the surface of Mars. The EXOMARS rover is a “robotic mission” which will provide Europe with new technologies for the exploration of Mars, specifically the surface Rover and its Drill and Sample Preparation and Distribution System (SPDS). ...The scientific payloads are accommodated in two separate assemblies: the Pasteur Payload installed onboard the Rover, and the Geophysical Science Package, mounted on the Landing Platform. The Rover accommodates as well a drill capable of collecting soil samples down to 2 m below the Mars surface. ...The EXOMARS rover is a “robotic mission” which will provide Europe with new technologies for the exploration of Mars, specifically the surface Rover and its Drill and Sample Preparation and Distribution System (SPDS). The EXOMARS spacecraft will be launched from the Guiana Space Centre (Kourou) in 2013: it will consist of the Carrier Module (CM) and a Descent Module (DM).

A favored launch vehicle is the extended H-IIA of Japanese manufacture, and a derivative of the Russian Phobos lander would deliver the rovers to the lunar surface. Each rover has a mass of 240 kg, generates 430 watts of electricity from solar arrays, and uses isotope units to provide 325 watts of heat to hibernate at night. ...The Lunar Rover Initiative (LRI) is producing technological and programmatic steps toward a commercial robotic expedition on the Moon at the turn of the millennium. ...Two teleoperated rovers will commemorate Apollo Era lunar landings by revisiting the historic sites of Apollo 11, Surveyor 5, Ranger 8, Apollo 17 and Lunokhod 2 during a two year, 2000km trek.

As prototype advanced planetary surface space suit and rover technologies are being developed for human planetary surface exploration, it is desirable to better understand the interaction and potential benefits of an Extravehiclar Activity (EVA) crewmember interacting with a robotic rover. This interaction between an EVA astronaut and a robotic rover is seen as complementary and can greatly enhance the productivity and safety of surface excursions. ...The first ever Astronaut - Rover (ASRO) Interaction Field Test was conducted successfully on February 22-27, 1999, in Silver Lake, Mojave Desert, California in a representative surface terrain. ...This test was a joint effort between the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California and the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas to investigate the interaction between humans and robotic rovers for potential future planetary surface exploration. As prototype advanced planetary surface space suit and rover technologies are being developed for human planetary surface exploration, it is desirable to better understand the interaction and potential benefits of an Extravehiclar Activity (EVA) crewmember interacting with a robotic rover.

Europe has embarked on a new programme of space exploration involving the development of rover, lander and probe missions to visit planets, moons and near Earth objects (NEOs) throughout the Solar System. ...Europe has embarked on a new programme of space exploration involving the development of rover, lander and probe missions to visit planets, moons and near Earth objects (NEOs) throughout the Solar System. Rovers and landers will require testing under simulated planetary, and NEO conditions to ensure their ability to land on and traverse the alien surfaces. ...ESA has begun work on a building project that will provide an enclosed and controlled environment for testing rover and lander functions such as landing, mobility, navigation and soil sampling. The facility will first support the European ExoMars mission due for launch in 2013.

As a mission type which can provide satisfactory safety “Space Rover” mission can be considered “Space Rover” is a fully reusable space ship with ionic thrust and solar panels or nuclear reactor as power source. ...Planet exploration and exploitation are conducted with robots which are controlled via radio waves without time delay In the paper arguments pros and cons of “Space Rover” and traditionally discussed mission scenarios are considered.

This paper discusses the Inukshuk landed rover mission to Mars that is currently undergoing the Phase 0 mission study for the Canadian Space Agency. ...The Inukshuk landed rover mission addresses key science themes for planetary exploration; focusing on the search for hydrated mineralogy and subsurface water sites that can provide evidence of past or present life. ...New exploration and science will be accomplished using an innovative tethered combination of a small rover and a self-elevating sky-cam aerostat. The elevating visible (VIS) imager, at about 10 m altitude, will provide an informative high-resolution 2-D view of the rover below and surrounding terrain to greatly assist the semi-autonomous navigation of the rover around obstacles and selection of sites for detailed subsurface exploration.

When the communications time delay is large, as for a Mars exploration rover operated from Earth, the difficulties become enormous. Conventional approaches, such as rate control of the rover actuators, are too inefficient and risky. ...Conventional approaches, such as rate control of the rover actuators, are too inefficient and risky. The Intelligent Mechanisms Laboratory at the NASA Ames Research Center has developed over the past four years an architecture for operating science exploration robots in the presence of large communications time delays.

The robotic vehicle is expected to last longer than previous lunar rovers. The rover is expected to: - Able to move at 10 km/h over Apollo-like terrain (≻100 times faster than Mars Exploration Rover (MER)), - Climb vertical steps of at least 70% of the maximum stowed dimension of the vehicle (≻2x MER), - Climb slopes of 35° on rock and 25° on soft sand, - Load, transport, manipulate, and deposit mock payloads in a useful fashion. ...The rover is expected to: - Able to move at 10 km/h over Apollo-like terrain (≻100 times faster than Mars Exploration Rover (MER)), - Climb vertical steps of at least 70% of the maximum stowed dimension of the vehicle (≻2x MER), - Climb slopes of 35° on rock and 25° on soft sand, - Load, transport, manipulate, and deposit mock payloads in a useful fashion. ...However, in order to ensure this is possible, the wheels of the vehicle, the unit which will experience the greatest wear and possess the greatest risk of premature failure, must be capable of supporting the operation of the rover over its projected lifetime. The lunar wheels, made of advanced nonpneumatic technology, required testing simulating the lunar environment under different loading conditions.

A vehicle capable of transferring human crews, modules, rovers, and logistics to and from the moon already exists; it is the International Space Station (ISS).

In this study we consider the coordinated exploration of an unfamiliar Martian landscape by a swarm of small autonomous rovers, called Swarmies, simulated in a distributed setting. With a sustainable program of return missions to and from Mars in mind, the goal of said exploration is to efficiently prospect the terrain for water meant to be gathered and then utilized in the production of rocket fuel. ...With a sustainable program of return missions to and from Mars in mind, the goal of said exploration is to efficiently prospect the terrain for water meant to be gathered and then utilized in the production of rocket fuel. The rovers are tasked with relaying relevant data to a home base that is responsible for maintaining a mining schedule for an arbitrarily large group of rovers extracting water-rich regolith. ...The rovers are tasked with relaying relevant data to a home base that is responsible for maintaining a mining schedule for an arbitrarily large group of rovers extracting water-rich regolith. For this reason, it is crucial that the participants maintain a wireless connection with one another and with the base throughout the entire process.

Here, especially ESA studies on the ExoMars-Pasteur payload and the AROMA (Automation and Robotics for Human Mars Exploration) study on autonomous Mars Rovers can be highlighted. The status of these studies include sample preparation and distribution systems, instrument concepts such as RAMAN spectroscopy and a Life Marker Chip, advanced microscope systems as well as different autonomous robotic elements.

For example, pre-cursor rovers could be upgraded to support a human-robot sortie team, and later could remain after the astronauts depart to complete and continue exploration tasks, possibly in co-operation with other robotic assets transported on the Lunar Surface Access Module.

We are placing a special focus on the “mini-swarm” comprising 4 human EVA astronauts and at least two robotically enabled planetary rovers implicit for early lunar missions in the recent ESAS report. We are seeking to identify opportunities for new interaction paradigms and emergent capabilities that result as well the unique challenges they create and the physical, data, and command and control interactions that are required to enable them.

Officials at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corp. in Tokyo have taken a first step toward collaborating on international space exploration, having agreed to accelerate their ongoing joint study of a manned, pressurized rover powered by fuel cell technologies to enable lunar mobility.

Unmanned Aerial Systems Deploying Next-Generation UAS Platforms with 3U VPX Unmanned Ground Vehicles UGVs - On the Cutting Edge of Thermal Management Unmanned Surface/Underwater Vehicles Controlling the Seas - Introducing a New Concept in Autonomous Surface/Underwater Vehicles Robotics Connectivity in Robotic Systems

Interoperability Standards Pave the Way for Modular Robotic Manipulators Solar Powering UAVs Deploying COTS Subsystems in UUVs Developing a Multi-Modal UGV Robot Control Interface Fast-Tracking Autonomous Vehicles with Simulation Gesture-Based Controls for Robots: Overview and Implications for Use by Soldiers Identifying the Flow Physics and Modeling Transient Forces on Two-Dimensional Wings Experimental Confirmation of an Aquatic Swimming Motion Theoretically of Very Low Drag and High Efficiency The Scaling of Loss Pathways and Heat Transfer in Small Scale Internal Combustion Engines A Guide for Developing Human-Robot Interaction Experiments in the Robotic Interactive Visualization and Experimentation Technology (RIVET) Simulation

Quality through closed-loop manufacturing Pratt & Whitney has employed automated part probing as part of its manufacturing process to provide final inspection, data collection and analysis, and process adjustment. A virtual fighter The Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. use SGI's Origin 2000 servers and Silicon Graphics Onyx2 visual supercomputers to design their respective Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) demonstrators virtually. Modular aerospace controls Honeywell investigates a commercial off-the-shelf approach to the automated generation of safety-critical software for distributed control systems. Automated fuselage mating Brotje-Automation GmbH has developed an automated alignment facility designed to accurately position and align major aircraft fuselage sections.

UAV Technology Using SWaP-C Reductions to Improve UAS/UGV Mission Capabilities UGV Technology Designing Rugged Computing Platforms for UGVs UUV & Robotics Technology Bi-manual Dexterous Manipulation for Maritime Explosive Ordnance Disposal UUV Technology Applying UUV Advances to Safeguard Harbors and Littoral Waters Robotics Technology Designing a Robot to Counter Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices