Related papers: Autonomous Rapid Exploration in Close-Proximity of…
Orbit determination of spacecraft in orbit has been mostly dependent on either GNSS satellite signals or ground station telemetry. Both methods present their limitations, however: GNSS signals can only be used effectively in earth orbit,…
Guidance and control (G&C) technologies play a central role in the development and operation of vehicular systems. The emergence of computational guidance and control (CG&C) and highly efficient numerical algorithms has opened up the great…
In this paper, a novel approach is introduced which utilizes a Rapidly-exploring Random Graph to improve sampling-based autonomous exploration of unknown environments with unmanned ground vehicles compared to the current state of the art.…
Autonomous spacecraft relative navigation technology has been planned for and applied to many famous space missions. The development of on-board electronics systems has enabled the use of vision-based and LiDAR-based methods to achieve…
This paper presents an integrated model-learning predictive control scheme for spacecraft orbit-attitude station-keeping in the vicinity of asteroids. The orbiting probe relies on optical and laser navigation while attitude measurements are…
In contrast to manned missions, the application of autonomous robots for space exploration missions decreases the safety concerns of the exploration missions while extending the exploration distance since returning transportation is not…
Long-distance driving is an important component of planetary surface exploration. Unforeseen events often require human operators to adjust mobility plans, but this approach does not scale and will be insufficient for future missions.…
We consider an autonomous exploration problem in which a range-sensing mobile robot is tasked with accurately mapping the landmarks in an a priori unknown environment efficiently in real-time; it must choose sensing actions that both curb…
Geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites are of great significance in the space market. Low-thrust propulsion has been highly developed in the last decades because it is fuel-saving. Therefore, the design of GEO satellites is rapidly…
Precise soft landings on asteroids are central to many deep space missions for surface exploration and resource exploitation. To improve the autonomy and intelligence of landing control, a real-time optimal control approach is proposed…
This paper first defines a class of estimation problem called simultaneous navigation and characterization (SNAC), which is a superset of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). A SNAC framework is then developed for the Autonomous…
This study presents autonomous guidance and control strategies for the purpose of reconfiguring close-range multi-satellite formations. The formation under consideration includes $N$ under-actuated deputy satellites and an uncontrolled…
The ability to perform autonomous exploration is essential for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) operating in unstructured or unknown environments where it is hard or even impossible to describe the environment beforehand. However, algorithms…
Neural Networks (NNs) can provide major empirical performance improvements for robotic systems, but they also introduce challenges in formally analyzing those systems' safety properties. In particular, this work focuses on estimating the…
Recent studies of optimization methods and GNC of spacecraft near small bodies focusing on descent, landing, rendezvous, etc., with key safety constraints such as line-of-sight conic zones and soft landings have shown promising results;…
Search and rescue environments exhibit challenging 3D geometry (e.g., confined spaces, rubble, and breakdown), which necessitates agile and maneuverable aerial robotic systems. Because these systems are size, weight, and power (SWaP)…
The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) proposes to retrieve a near-Earth asteroid and position it in a lunar distant retrograde orbit (DRO) for later study, crewed exploration, and ultimately resource exploitation. During the Caltech Space…
This paper investigates performance guarantees on coverage-based ergodic exploration methods in environments containing disturbances. Ergodic exploration methods generate trajectories for autonomous robots such that time spent in each area…
We demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of using a satellite-based sensor with visual and infrared focal plane arrays to search for NEAs with orbits largely interior to the Earth's orbit. Such a space-based system could detect…
Proximity operations to small bodies, such as asteroids and comets, demand high levels of autonomy to achieve cost-effective, safe, and reliable Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) solutions. Enabling autonomous GNC capabilities in the…