The Latest Cisco News
Product and Solution Information, Press Releases, Announcements

Scientists are working with NASA to develop smart humanoid robots to help, or replace, astronauts on extreme space missions.

If you're an astronaut on Mars, a dust storm can be a sure way to ruin your day (remember last year's hit movie The Martian?). Dust storms on the Red Planet can be huge and last for weeks. They can mess with your communications array, screw up your solar panels, or punch a hole in your pressurized habitat—any one of which could prove life threatening.

But what if robots could do the job, allowing humans to focus on other tasks? If that sounds far-fetched, consider that NASA is already working with a select group of scientists to prepare robots to help, or even replace, human astronauts. Earlier this year, the space agency awarded two of its humanoid robot prototypes, the R5, to scientists at Northeastern University and MIT, tasking teams with developing the robot's ability to help in extreme space missions, such as one to Mars.

"The dream is for the robot to be like a companion on Mars—like a C-3PO," says Monsi Roman, program manager at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "There might be a crew of six astronauts, amplified by a few humanoids, rovers and perhaps even a type of R2-D2, working side-by-side."

NASA is already working with a select group of scientists to prepare robots to help, or even replace, human astronauts.In parallel with the scientists' efforts, NASA in August launched a $1 million prize competition, challenging participants to program the R5 to do three jobs in the wake of a hypothetical Martian dust storm: align a communications array, repair a broken solar array, and identify and repair a habitat leak. More than 400 teams submitted projects to the Space Robotics Challenge. Those deemed eligible will work on virtual versions of the robots.

"As one of the prizes, the top-performing teams will get time with an actual physical robot and will be able to dump their code on the hardware," says robotics expert Taskin Padir, who leads the research team at Northeastern University in Boston. "It's a unique oppor­tu­nity for the robotics com­mu­nity."

Northeastern is collaborating with the University of Massachusetts in nearby Lowell to host the R5 and the competition winners. UMass Lowell is home to the largest indoor robot test facility in New Eng­land, known as NERVE (short for New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation). MIT is hosting the other R5.

The Quest for Autonomy and Dexterity

Northeastern received its R5 in April. Since then, Padir and team have been doing research into creating robots that are both autonomous and dexterous.

"If we are serious about sending these kinds of robots on space missions, then they have to be autonomous," says Padir, an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "We cannot rely on operating them remotely."

That's because the longer-term goal for NASA is to use robots as precursor explorers that could arrive on Mars long before astronauts, to set up habitats, life support systems, and communications and solar arrays. They could also assist crews in space or take care of assets left behind. And they could operate in dangerous or extreme environments right here on Earth.

"There's also a delay in communications from Earth to Mars, so they need to be autonomous in some way," Roman says.

Another holy grail is dexterity—defined as skill in performing tasks, especially with the hands. Many simple tasks that most of us take for granted are still beyond the abilities of even sophisticated robots like the R5. This past summer, Padir and his team developed the R5's ability to perform tasks like picking up a parcel or a pipe.

"We humans have perfect actuators, perfect tendons, but today's robots still lack those dexterous manipulations," Padir says. "They need to be able to do things which are quite intuitive for us humans—to pick up a drill, turn it on and drill a hole, or pick up a flashlight and change the batteries."

IoT in Space

Just as the Internet of Things (IoT) enables "connected robots" to reduce downtime and boost productivity in some auto manufacturing plants on Earth, Padir expects robots in space will benefit from what he calls "IoT in space."

"When we have these intelligent systems on Mars or any other extra-terrestrial surface, everything will be able to communicate with each other," Padir says. "The whole system will be connected and intelligent and smart."

NASA plans a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s, and private organizations are planning them sooner (Mars One predicts a permanent human colony on Mars by 2026).

"What excites me is that we're pushing the technology," Roman says. "We're making people dream and think hard to solve tough problems. If we didn't have the dream of going to Mars, we wouldn't be doing any of this."

That's also the dream that drives Padir—along with the dream that he could live long enough to see his work play a role in the Mars mission.

"If a piece of knowledge that we create in this project—a line of code or a piece of technology—matures in a way that it becomes part of this mission … what more can I ask for?"