Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2023 - 21

Rail 1
Paired Habitation Modules
1/6 G Moon Level
Non-Rotating Space Station
OG
Rail 2
Paired Service Modules
Rail 3
Paired Habitation Modules
0.38 Mars Levels
Creating artificial gravity in space. (Image: NASA)
craft; (5) the absence or minimal presence
of non-rotating structure for 0G
research and industrial use; and (6) the
generation of extraneous Coriolis effect
on spacecraft inhabitants.
The novel technology can help solve the
problems referenced above and other
problems by (1) providing a non-rotating
space station or structure, and connecting
modules that generate artificial gravity by
traveling along a circular path around the
non-rotating space station; (2) providing
modules that are more easily built and balanced;
(3) providing a stationary structure
that can provide a platform for other components
that do not need gravity to function;
(4) providing capability to actively interrogate
what levels of mass imbalance are
acceptable, for use in determining operational
constraints; and (5) reducing or
eliminating Coriolis effect on occupants in
habitation modules.
The concepts of the invention are very
cost-effective and allow for building a minimal
initial system to produce artificial gravity
at the first phases of construction, before
the full structure is built. An additional
benefit is that construction and assembly of
new capabilities can be performed without
disrupting the ongoing artificial gravity environment
of the existing structure.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please contact
NASA's Licensing Concierge at AgencyPatent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov
or call at
202-358-7432 to initiate licensing discussions.
For more information, visit https://
technology.nasa.gov/patent/TOP2-311.
New Algorithm Keeps Drones from Colliding in Midair
Researchers create a trajectory-planning system that enables drones working together in the
same airspace to always choose a safe path forward.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
W
hen multiple drones are working together
in the same airspace, perhaps
spraying pesticide over a field of corn,
there's a risk they might crash into each other.
To help avoid these costly crashes, MIT
researchers developed a system called MADER
in 2020. This multiagent trajectoryplanner
enables a group of drones to formulate
optimal, collision-free trajectories.
Each agent broadcasts its trajectory so fellow
drones know where it is planning to
go. Agents then consider each other's trajectories
when optimizing their own to ensure
they don't collide.
But when the team tested the system
on real drones, they found that if a
drone doesn't have up-to-date information
on the trajectories of its partners, it
might inadvertently select a path that results
in a collision. The researchers revamped
their system and are now rolling
out Robust MADER, a multiagent trajectory
planner that generates collision-free
trajectories even when communications
between agents are delayed.
Tech Briefs, December 2023
When multiple drones are working together in the same airspace, there's a risk they might collide.
But now AeroAstro researchers have created a trajectory-planning system that enables drones in
the same airspace to always choose a safe path forward. (Image: Courtesy of the researchers)
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Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2023

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