Shift Magazine - May 2021 - 20

SELF-DRIVING ... LUNAR STYLE?

BY ALEXA ST. JOHN

erman megasupplier Bosch, which
has long been establishing its
expertise in artificial intelligence,
is contributing to a few NASA projects that show just how much life in space
and the auto world can converge.
Bosch, alongside space robotics company
Astrobotic Technology Inc., the University
of Washington, wireless charging provider
WiBotic and NASA'S Glenn Research
Center, have partnered on a project to intelligently navigate and wirelessly charge shoebox-sized robots on the moon.
The project - awarded $5.8 million
through NASA's Tipping Point program
- aims to develop a precise, autonomous navigation system that will help
Astrobotic's CubeRover robots locate
wireless chargers during a lunar mission. And it's looking to do so for a

Astrobotic's CubeRover robots would use
AI to find their own chargers on the moon.

demonstration by mid-2023.
" Navigating a robot on the moon is
not the same as navigating a robotic
vacuum through your home or navigating
a self-driving car on the road, " Samarjit
Das, leader of the intelligent Internet of
Things group at Bosch Research, said in a
November statement.
Think: a less than five-pound version of

Wall-E that can use artificial intelligence to
find its way to its own charger, all while
navigating its harsh and unpredictable
lunar surroundings.
Bosch previously partnered with Astrobotic to develop SoundSee, a module that
uses microphones and machine learning to
analyze audio data, with NASA. SoundSee
aimed to analyze sounds on the International
Space Station - Bosch's first deployment
there - to gauge system health.
NASA's Mars helicopter, Ingenuity,
even has a bit of the global automotive
supplier aboard. Two of Bosch's BMI160
sensors have been used for the NASA
Mars mission this year.
The sensor collects data on how fast, and
in which direction, Ingenuity is traveling -
and supports the helicopter's flight stability.
Some might even say the ways in which
auto industry expertise can apply to aerospace are pretty out of this world. n

ORBITAL MISSIONS

Space has long been a familiar place for automakers

General Motors co-developed the
Lunar Roving Vehicle used in the
Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions.

A Toyota Tundra tows the space shuttle
Endeavor to a California museum in 2012.

Chrysler's alternative space shuttle idea: a
" single-stage Earth-orbital reusable vehicle "
that could carry a separate crew module.

GM's dexterous
Robonaut 2 went
to the International
Space Station.

SPACEX

Elon Musk sent a Tesla Roadster,
" piloted " by a mannequin dubbed
Starman, into space in 2018.

Chrysler's
Space Division
built the first
stage of the
Saturn 1B
rocket used in
early Apollo
missions. The
automaker
also built
Redstone
ballistic
missiles.

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https://us.bosch-press.com/pressportal/us/en/press-release-9344.html https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/products/motion-sensors/imus/bmi160/ https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/products/motion-sensors/imus/bmi160/ https://us.bosch-press.com/pressportal/us/en/press-release-12736.html

Shift Magazine - May 2021

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