Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022 - MD-18

Autonomous Assemblers Assemble
Teams of modular robots build structures in space, autonomously or with humans-in-the-loop.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
I
n-space and planetary surface assembly
for human exploration is a challenging
domain that encompasses various
technological thrusts to support
human missions. NASA is developing
autonomous assembly agents to build
structures like habitats and antennae
on the Moon. These modular and reconfigurable
Assembler robots will provide
robotic assembly of structures,
even in locations that prohibit constant
human oversight and teleoperation.
Assemblers are a team of modular
robots that work together to build
things. Each Assembler is a stack of one
or more Stewart platforms, or hexapods,
made up of two plates connected
by six linear actuators for movement,
enabling a full six-degree-of-freedom
pose of the top plate relative to the bottom
plate. An end effector on each
Assembler enables gripping, lifting, and
welding/joining. The Assemblers system
architecture features novel control
algorithms and software, sensors, and
communicator technology that coordinate
operations of Assembler teams.
The control system includes an important
module for task management that
estimates how many robots are needed,
and fault detection. The novel control
Assemblers comprise stacked hexapods. As shown,
six linear actuators connect a top and bottom plate,
enabling a full six-DOF pose of the top plate relative
to the bottom. (Image: NASA)
the optimal number of hexapods in
each Assembler, and the estimated voltage
needed.
There are also modules for trajectory
generation, joint control, sensor fusion,
system directs the Assembler operations
for high accuracy and precision, yet
there is built-in dynamic resilience to
failure. For example, if a single hexapod
on an Assembler fails, the system
deems it rigid in its last pose and redistributes
the work to the other
Assemblers. The image shows a storyboard
of operations for how Assemblers
might build a solar array. NASA has developed
a hardware demo with communications
between subsystems, backed
up by detailed simulations of the kinematics
and actuator dynamics.
Compared with existing short-reach/
high-accuracy and long-reach/low accuracy-assembly
robots, Assemblers provides
both long- and short-reach capability
with accuracy and precision. The
technology builds upon recent advancements
in lightweight materials, state estimation,
modern control theory, and
machine learning. This system is capable
of scheduling, reconfiguring, and
executing structural assembly tasks; assessing
construction; and correcting
errors in assembly as needed.

http://info.hotims.com/82322-850

Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022

Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022 - Intro
Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022 - Sponsor
Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022 - Band1
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Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2022 - Cov1
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