Related papers: Spherical Planetary Robot for Rugged Terrain Trave…
Autonomous aerial vehicles, such as NASA's Ingenuity, enable rapid planetary surface exploration beyond the reach of ground-based robots. Thus, NASA is studying a Mars Science Helicopter (MSH), an advanced concept capable of performing…
The science and origins of asteroids is deemed high priority in the Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Two of the main questions from the Decadal Survey pertain to what the "initial stages, conditions, and processes of solar system formation…
This paper presents the results of a mission concept study for an autonomous micro-scale surface lander also referred to as PANIC - the Pico Autonomous Near-Earth Asteroid In Situ Characterizer. The lander is based on the shape of a regular…
The application of vision-language models (VLMs) has achieved impressive success in various robotics tasks. However, there are few explorations for these foundation models used in quadruped robot navigation through terrains in 3D…
Collapsing terrains, often present in search and rescue missions or planetary exploration, pose significant challenges for quadruped robots. This paper introduces a robust locomotion framework for safe navigation over unstable surfaces by…
Exploring and navigating in extreme environments, such as caves, oceans, and planetary bodies, are often too hazardous for humans, and as such, robots are possible surrogates. These robots are met with significant locomotion challenges that…
A planetary research drone is proposed, which is capable for vertical takeoff and landing. A hybrid flight concept utilizing static lift enables the exploration over ground. The static lift is achieved with a lighter than CO2 gas like air,…
This paper presents a first contribution to the design of a small aerial robot for inhabited microgravity environments, such as orbiting space stations. In particular, we target a fleet of robots for collaborative tasks with humans, such as…
Planetary rovers operating in extraterrestrial environments often encounter significant mobility challenges due to varying terrain features such as gradients and granularity. While recent works in multimodal wheel design have explored…
Exoplanetary science has reached a historic moment. The James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of probing the atmospheres of rocky planets, and perhaps even search for biologically produced gases. However this is contingent on…
NASA aims to establish a sustainable human basecamp on the Moon as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars and beyond. The discovery of water ice on the Moon's craters located in permanently shadowed regions, which can provide drinking…
This paper presents the design of a small aerial robot for inhabited microgravity environments, such as orbiting space stations (e.g., ISS). In particular, we target a fleet of robots, called Space CoBots, for collaborative tasks with…
The Global Exploration Roadmap indicates the need for increased human exploration of under-sampled regions of our solar system in order to make new scientific discoveries. The high costs and dangers of sending humans deeper into our solar…
In this paper we present a mission architecture and a robotic platform, the Shapeshifter, that allow multi-domain and redundant mobility on Saturn's moon Titan, and potentially other bodies with atmospheres. The Shapeshifter is a collection…
Shake tables serve as a critical tool for simulating earthquake events and testing the response of structures to seismic forces. However, existing shake tables are either expensive or proprietary. This paper presents the design and…
There exist a wide range of options for field robotics research using ground and aerial mobile robots, but there are comparatively few robust and research-ready uncrewed surface vessels (USVs). This workshop paper starts with a snapshot of…
Socially-aware robotic navigation is essential in environments where humans and robots coexist, ensuring both safety and comfort. However, most existing approaches have been primarily developed for mobile robots, leaving a significant gap…
SPHERE+ is a proposed upgrade of the SPHERE instrument at the VLT, which is intended to boost the current performances of detection and characterization for exoplanets and disks. SPHERE+ will also serve as a demonstrator for the future…
Nowadays, design and development of legged quadruped robots is a quite active area of scientific research. In fact, the legged robots have become popular due to their capabilities to adapt to harsh terrains and diverse environmental…
Missions such as the Ingenuity helicopter have shown the advantages of using novel locomotion modes to increase the scientific return of planetary exploration missions. Legged robots can further expand the reach and capability of future…