TOPIC: X7 Operations of Exploration Equipment

• Compact, portable systems to generate reverse engineering data to support manufacturing of replacement items during a mission. This will allow generation of a duplicate part based on an existing part if CAD models are not available.
  
• Real-time non-destructive evaluation during layer-additive processing for on-the-fly quality control. This will provide capabilities for in-process quality control and may serve as an input for closed-loop process control. Equipment should be portable, compact, and capable of integration with layer-additive manufacturing systems.
  
• Non-destructive material property determination. This will provide an in-process quality control capability to ensure that material deposited during layer-additive processing meets required material property criteria. Equipment should be portable, compact, and capable of integration with layer-additive manufacturing systems.
  
• Recycling/generation of feedstock materials for deposition processes. This will provide the capability to recycle failed parts and material removed from near-net-shape parts during machining operations to serve as feedstock material for subsequent layer-additive manufacturing. Initial focus should be placed on metallic materials. Additionally, emphasis should be placed on total system mass and volume.
  
• Compact, portable multi-axis machining systems. This will provide subtractive manufacturing capabilities to achieve final design dimensions and surface finishes following layer-additive processes that produce near-net-shape parts. Equipment to accomplish this should be of the minimum mass and volume possible while still providing required capabilities.
  
• Compact, portable, vacuum-compatible multi-axis manipulator. This will provide the capability for complex manipulation of the item itself, the processing equipment, or both during layer-additive manufacturing and machining. To be compatible with the widest variety of candidate processes, manipulation equipment should be vacuum compatible. Additionally, equipment to accomplish this should be of the minimum mass and volume possible while still providing required capabilities.
  
• Laundry system. This will provide the capability for extended reuse of crew clothing. Any laundry system must utilize a minimal amount of water or no water at all. Any water used should be easily recycled - either being reintroduced into the spacecraft water system or recycled internal to the laundry system. Additional emphasis should be placed on the mass and volume of the equipment and minimization of power requirements.
  

• Telepresence and variable autonomy teleoperation systems that support human and robot teams operating: (1) in a shared space, (2) close but separated, (3) somewhat remote, and far remote. Particular interest is given to systems that flexibly support human-robot operations in the presence of time-delays of up to 10 seconds.
  
• Software frameworks and interaction infrastructures that facilitate the creation and operation of joint human-agent teams. Conventional control architectures do not adequately address human-system interaction needs, particularly in terms of coordination, teaming, direct and indirect commanding, and information sharing between humans, robots, and distributed software agents. Of particular interest are extensions to existing NASA human-robot architectures and software frameworks including: automatic event and situation summarization, notification and dialogue based on user state (role, availability, location, interface), centralized task coordination/dispatch, user activity monitoring, and automated detection of domain events.
  
• Adaptive user interfaces including perception (visual gesturing), speech recognition, context awareness, computational cognitive models and/or collaborative 3D graphics, and EVA display devices (i.e., pressure-suit compatible devices and displays). Specific design objectives include enabling more natural interaction with autonomous systems, facilitating situational awareness, increasing overall productivity by reducing the amount of interaction effort the human has with the robot, and flexibly displaying multi-modal and mission-specific data.
  
• Embedded real-time advisory and action planning systems for fully autonomous integrated systems that support remote and onboard vehicle operations for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
  
• Engineering systems that support flight demonstrations of dexterous robots working with EVA crew using CEV and ISS to prove capabilities for space and lunar operations. This will provide human, robotic and human-robot team options for dexterous EVA tasks, robotic EVA capabilities for excursions into high radiation fields beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and the ability to respond to onboard situations with prompt EVA action.
  
• Accurate and affordable methods for prototyping and evaluating human-system interaction. This includes model-based simulation and trade studies for analyzing multiple interaction "dimensions" (spatial distribution, autonomy level, team makeup, task dependencies, etc.) and missions (pre-cursor robotic, short-stay sorties, and long-duration outpost).
  
• Vehicle control systems and navigation sensors that support on-board driving, teleoperation, and autonomous operations. Control systems should support multiple control modes, include activity monitoring and operator intent prediction, and tolerate up to 10 seconds of time-delay. Navigation sensors that utilize passive computer vision (real-time dense stereo, optical flow, etc.) and/or active illumination (for recognizing/tracking non-textured objects and operation in permanently shadowed regions) are of particular interest.
  

• Highly reliable and durable surface systems for site preparation, pad construction, site sampling and prospecting are needed for planetary exploration. Sample collection may require excavating, picking, and physical manipulation of materials, as well as tagging and transport to an analysis site. Emphasis will be placed on proposals that address both manned and unmanned vehicle control operating capabilities of the surface system.
  
• Flexible and adaptive systems to deploy and emplace site infrastructure, such as beacons for communication, survey, navigation, etc. Emphasis should be placed on developing lightweight, power-efficient manipulation devices (dexterous and non-dexterous) that can be deployed on small rovers and that are appropriate for multiple tasks. Much of this activity can be performed with teleoperated and semi-autonomous robots controlled from ground. Some of this activity, however, will also require human presence at the site. In both cases, the effectiveness of Human-Robot interaction (HRI) will have a major impact on the efficiency and productivity of mission operations.
  
• Access/handling and transportation equipment (including cargo carriers) for delivery and deployment of materials, components, and infrastructure. Vehicle systems that can self-deploy, that can function in rough and steep terrain, and that can controlled at various levels of autonomy are of particular interest.
  
• Commodities distribution systems (including umbilicals) for routing to equipment and infrastructure. Commodities distribution systems are necessary to interconnect distributed surface assets (e.g., access/handling and transportation equipment, launch and landing systems, communication relays, power plants) to support long-duration sorties and sequential mission architectures.
  
• Vehicle control architectures that support on-board driving, teleoperation, and autonomous operations. Particular emphasis is placed on architectures that can flexibly support and adapt to multiple control modes, that include activity monitoring and operator intent prediction, and that can tolerate up to 10 seconds of time-delay.
  
• Highly reliable, durable, and long-life systems (mechanical, electrical, software, power train, lubricants, etc). This includes design and implementation of integrated actuator, suspension and control avionics for surface vehicles and evaluation of test articles in field experiments (preferably in lunar analog environments).
  

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