Metis Technology Solutions is proud to announce that the company has been selected for award of a NASA Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Roshan Kalghatgi serves as Principal Investigator on the project, entitled “Collaborative Sensing and Mapping for IVA Robots”. Proposed as an initiative to explore novel ways for IVA Robots to autonomously explore and manage spacecraft, it could be utilized by robots such as Astrobee and Robonaut 2 on the Gateway spacecraft. To do this effectively, IVA robots must be able to not only collect and fuse sensor data but also interpret and share information with other IVA robots, as any human team would do to accomplish a task. Metis will develop an online collaborative process or spacecraft-hosted service, where any IVA robot, both free flyer and humanoid robots, can contribute new data to an onboard server for fusion and sharing with other IVA robots, Astronauts, and ground teams.
The project has the potential to multiply the efficiency of IVA robotic mapping operations when deployed as a swarm. The Collaborative SLAM approach will enable information sharing between agents and provide for economies of scale when working with any number of agents. “We are excited to develop this capability and fulfill an important need, and Mr. Kalghatgi and his team are perfect for the opportunity,” says Mike Roberts, Metis Director of Aeronautics Programs.
The technology developed will not only address an operational limitation for NASA’s Astrobee mission but also fills technical gaps identified by the proposed Game Changing Development (GCD) Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Caretaking (ISAAC) project that seeks to enable autonomous spacecraft maintenance and operations for future missions to the Moon and beyond.
The project has the potential to multiply the efficiency of IVA robotic mapping operations when deployed as a swarm. The Collaborative SLAM approach will enable information sharing between agents and provide for economies of scale when working with any number of agents. “We are excited to develop this capability and fulfill an important need, and Mr. Kalghatgi and his team are perfect for the opportunity,” says Mike Roberts, Metis Director of Aeronautics Programs.
The technology developed will not only address an operational limitation for NASA’s Astrobee mission but also fills technical gaps identified by the proposed Game Changing Development (GCD) Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Caretaking (ISAAC) project that seeks to enable autonomous spacecraft maintenance and operations for future missions to the Moon and beyond.