Multisensory shared autonomy and tele-sensor programming — Key issues in space robotics

Abstract

The long-term goal of our robotics activities has always been based on the idea of relieving man from inhuman and dangerous tasks. While in the early years of robotics our main focus of interest was restricted to designing robot sensors (and sensor-based man-machine interfaces) and closing smart sensory feedback loops, in recent years the activities have widened up considerably. Presently the general goal is the design of a new generation of multisensory light-weight robots for space applications which are operable by astronauts as well as from groundstations, based on powerful telerobotic concepts and man-machine interfaces. This goal is characterized by a high degree of interdisciplinarity and consists of a few major task areas, such as mechatronics (sensory and actuator developments), telerobotics (remote control concepts for space robots), and learning (and self-improvement). In the early years of our robotic activities cooperation with terrestrial industry was predominant, however the last five years were characterized by close cooperation and contracts with space industry. The space robot technology experiment ROTEX — Europe's first active step into space robotics — was massively based on the concepts and systems developed here (multisensory gripper, local autonomy, telerobotic station); nevertheless in the future there will be considerable effort to transfer technology developed for space (e.g. light-weight concepts) back into terrestrial applications.