Conference 7.286::space

From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: NASA develops "telepresence" for exploration (Forwarded)
Date: 4 Feb 92 20:30:16 GMT
Approved: [email protected]

Drucella Andersen
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                           
February 4, 1991
(Phone:  202/453-8613)

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
(Phone:  415/604-3937)

RELEASE: 92-20

NASA DEVELOPS "TELEPRESENCE" FOR EXPLORATION

	Astronauts may someday explore Mars without leaving their base
camp using "telepresence," a unique mix of science and engineering
that NASA is now developing. 

	Many scientists think that telepresence will play a major role
in future planetary missions, particularly the President's Space
Exploration Initiative to return humans to the Moon and then later, to
Mars. 

	 "When we begin to explore Mars, it won't be easy for the
astronauts to travel far from their base to gain access to the whole
planet," said Dr. Geoffrey Briggs, Scientific Director of the new
Center for Mars Exploration at NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain
View, Calif.  "Telepresence will allow humans to project themselves,
by way of a suitably equipped robot, into a remote environment without
endangering themselves.  It's a very powerful research technique." 

	Telepresence lets a researcher, wearing a video headset, see
remote locations through cameras mounted on a remotely- operated
robotic vehicle.  The researcher points the camera by moving his or
her head and steers the vehicle with a pair of joysticks or with body
motion.  Manipulators on the robot relay the "feel" of an object's
weight and texture. 

	Telepresence is similar to "virtual reality," another computer
science innovation that has a video headset, input devices to control
movement and ways to create tactile feedback. While virtual reality
allows a user to see and interact with a computerized video image,
telepresence lets a researcher see what a robot sees and to do actual
tasks in a real environment. 

	 "The difference between telepresence and virtual reality is
with telepresence we're trying to give users the feeling that they're
in a remote location," said Owen Gwynne, Telepresence Project Engineer
at Ames. 

	Ames scientists are now testing telepresence as a way to
control a robot for underwater scientific research.  The advantage of
studying the technology in this setting is that mobile submersible
robots already are available.  Deep Ocean Engineering Inc., San
Leandro, Calif., built the rover that NASA is using in its experiments. 

	Although remotely-operated vehicles have done jobs from
commercial diving ventures to nuclear power plant cleanup after an
accident, the NASA studies are the first using telepresence to control
robotic devices to accomplish science outside the laboratory.  Briggs
called the research technique "revolutionary" because it is an
opportunity to simulate planetary studies in hostile Earthly
environments, such as the frigid waters of Antarctica, and eventually
to perform real research on the Moon and Mars. 

	Dr. Carol Stoker is the Telepresence Project Manager at Ames. 
Ames researchers Dr. Michael McGreevy and Dr. Christopher McKay, Dale
Anderson of Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Co., Sunnyvale, Calif.,
and Dr. Robert Wharton of the Desert Research Institute in Nevada also
are participating. 

NOTE TO EDITORS:  A video clip to illustrate this release is available
by calling 202/453-8594.  Still photos also are available (202/453-8375). 

Color:       92-HC-56                         B&W:     92-H-59
             92-HC-57                         B&W:     92-H-60
             92-HC-58                         B&W:     92-H-61

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=====================                           [Littleton, MA, USA            ]

                Explorers to Climb Active Antarctica Volcano

    This year, if all goes according to plan, two explorers will climb
    Mt. Erebus, an active volcano in Antarctica.  One will descend into
    the crater to measure the temperature of the gases spewing from the
    lava lake.  This information will help scientists understand the role
    of volcanoes in the ozone layer.

    The explorers are robots developed by Carnegie-Mellon University
    with NASA backing.  The endeavor will depend on teamwork between the
    two machines.  A crawling transporter named Virgil will carry its
    companion, Dante, to the summit, then act as a base station as the
    eight legged rappeller descends into the crater.  A laser scanner
    will let the machines "see" the terrain they are passing through.

    If successful, the mission will help advance knowledge of
    cooperation between machines.  The steel climbers will also give
    scientists a chance to test robotic technology in harsh
    environments, training for the kind of conditions they might
    eventually encounter while exploring planets in space.

    {Business Week June 15, 1992}

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From:	DECWRL::"[email protected]" 25-AUG-1992 
        19:30:37.34
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	Robot Parade

Drucella Andersen
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                          August 25, 1992
(Phone:  202/453-8613)

Mike Fetters
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/357-1663)

EDITORS NOTE:  N92-77

ROBOT PARADE/PRESS PREVIEW SET FOR THE MALL

	Media representatives are invited to a robot parade and press
preview on Monday, Aug. 31, at 11 a.m EDT.  NASA Administrator Daniel
Goldin, National Air and Space Museum Director Martin Harwit,
Planetary Society Executive Director Louis Friedman and
representatives from the Russian Space Agency will be on hand to
answer questions. 

	The parade of the largest gathering of interplanetary rovers
will begin on the Mall, across 4th Street, S.W., near the National Air
and Space Museum and end with the robots filing into a tent that will
house them during a Rover Expo.  Sixteen vehicles, ranging in size
from 4 pounds to 3 tons, will be on display.  The rovers include
NASA's "Dante" which is scheduled to go to Antartica in November to
explore Mt. Erebus, an active volcano. 

	Walkers, crawlers and wheeled rovers will be on the Mall,
Sept. 1-2, during the International Space Year Exhibition of Robots
for Exploring New Worlds.  Each day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rovers
will demonstrate their capabilities on a 24- by 40-foot simulated Mars
terrain, located one block east of the National Air and Space Museum. 
The expo is free and open to the public. 

     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

Article: 48160
From: [email protected] (John Roberts)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Notes from Rover Expo
Date: 5 Sep 92 04:26:23 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology
 
On Wednesday, I went to the September 1-2 planetary Rover Expo that
was described in sci.space and sci.space.news. It was extremely
interesting. All of the rovers were on display, and they took turns
moving about on a simulated martian terrain (large rocks and local
clay soil mixed with pigment to give it the vivid orange color of
martian soil). There was also a smooth runway between the simulated
terrain and the audience, with a considerable number of small children
allowed to sit along the runway, and the smaller rovers were moved
along the runway so the kids could see them up close. (Naturally the
rovers tracked a lot of the colored soil onto the runway, and the kids
rolled in the dust and quickly spread it to the bleachers and
everywhere else in the tent - few people escaped getting
Mars-colored.) A running commentary was given with each demonstration,
often with the same person talking and controlling the rover. 
 
The main sponsors of the Rover Expo were NASA, the National Air and
Space Museum (which had a sign inside the door of the museum), and the
Planetary Society. Co-sponsors included the Russian Mobile Vehicle
Engineering Institute, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, and the
Space Automation and Robotics Technical Committee of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 
 
>From the literature, here are the rovers that participated, and the 
organizations that provided them, with some comments by me:

...............
 
Babakin Center
 NPO Lavochkin, Moscow
Space Research Institute
 Russian Academy of Sciences
Mobile Vehicle Engineering Institute
 (VNIITransMash)
 
  - Unnamed Marsokhod (Mars Rover)
    size: 1.2 x 1.0 x 0.8 meters
    mass: 75 kg
    speed: 10 cm/s
    comments: Rover will be named in an international student contest.
      Three pairs of long, tapered wheels with small blades. "Wheel mode"
      can handle slopes of 20 degrees, "wheel-crawler mode" 30-35 degrees in
      loose soil. Largest individual stones 0.5 m. Service life 100km. Can
      be commanded directly from orbiter for use in dangerous conditions,
      programmed mode for motion along a specified route, and autonomous mode
      for motion in a given direction, with route corrections. Returns
      high-resolution color stereo images of surface, also has numerous
      scientific instruments. Scheduled for a demo. Tested in the Mojave Desert
      with the aid of the Planetary Society.
 
      Also shown was a "hot air balloon" to represent the SNAKE instrument
      (dragged along the Martian surface by a balloon) developed by the
      Space Dynamics Laboratory (Utah State University), JPL, the French
      space agency CNES, and the Planetary Society, and scheduled to be
      launched on a CIS Proton booster in 1996.
 
...............
 
Carnegie Mellon University
 Robotics Institute
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 
  - Ambler
    size: 4.5 x 3.0 x 5.5 meters
    mass: 3 tons
    speed: 0.8 cm/s
    comments: The six-legged walker that Marc Ringuette has described. It's
      been operational for a year or more - I've seen it on CNN and NASA
      Select. It's really enormous, and apparently is quite a job to control -
      there was a battery of computer workstations set up to do it. Apparently
      the last demo Tuesday was to walk the Ambler out onto the terrain, and
      the first demo Wednesday was to walk it back to its resting place.
      Able to step over objects 1 meter high, and maintain a level body on
      a 30-degree slope. Laser rangefinder on top of body. There are plans
      to give the Ambler considerable autonomy. (This should largely make
      up for the low speed, for use on Mars.)
 
  - Dante -- the Erebus Explorer
    size: 3.0 x 1.9 x 3.5 meters
    mass: 400 kg
    speed: 2 cm/s
    comments: Another (6-legged?) walker, hard to describe. It appears to
      be made of beautiful purple anodized aluminum. It's intended to explore
      the active volcano Mount Erebus in Antarctica in 1992. Another robot,
      Virgil, also called the transporter, is to ascend to the rim of the 
      crater, where it will lower Dante, also called the rappeller, to observe 
      the lava lake, measure temperatures, take samples, etc. Not scheduled
      for a demo. Cameras return anaglyph stereo display.
 
...............
 
IS Robotics
 Cambridge, Massachusetts
 
  - Attila II
    size: 38 x 25 x 30 cm
    mass: 3 kg
    speed: 5 cm/s
    comments: No other information. Apparently it was not scheduled for a demo.
 
  - Genghis II
    size: 38 x 25 x 20 cm
    mass: 1.7 kg
    speed: 10 cm/s
    comments: Was scheduled for a demo. A 6-legged walker.
 
  - T-1
    size: 38 x 45 x 25 cm
    mass: 6 kg
    speed: 30 cm/s
    comments: Was scheduled for a demo. Looks like a wheeled vehicle in the
      photograph, but hard to tell.
 
  - Treader
    size: 45 x 35 x 35 cm
    mass: 4 kg
    speed: 30 cm/s
    comments: Was scheduled for a demo.
 
...............
 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 Robotic Systems & Advanced Computing Technology Section
 Pasadena, California
 
  - Rocky III
    size: 80 x 80 x 80 cm (JPL literature says 60 cm long by 45 cm wide.)
    mass: 8 kg (JPL literature says 15 kg, which seems more likely.)
    speed: 10 cm/s
    comments: Six-wheeled design with articulated, "rocker-bogie" suspension
      to allow it to climb over objects 1.3 times as high as wheel diameter.
      Wheel encoders, bumpers, articulation sensors, magnetic compass, and
      attitude sensors. Developed for autonomous sample-acquisition experiment
      using computerized navigation system called "behavior control". User
      determines location of interest - rover travels to that location
      autonomously, scoops up a soil sample, and returns it to the lander,
      following an infrared beacon as a homing device. Large obstacles are
      avoided. I saw a demo of Rocky III.
 
  - Rocky IV (not present at show)
    size: 60 cm long by 45 cm wide
    mass: 7.2 kg
    speed: ?
    comments: Interest in use as Mars Environmental Survey Pathfinder.
      Same basic design as Rocky III. Deploys microseismometers, scoops
      soil samples, and chips rock surfaces. This is the model that uses
      stereo cameras with alternate-field liquid crystal shutter goggles
      for the operators. I spoke with the JPL people, and they said they're
      using standard NTSC format, 30 frames per second. Onboard spectrometer.
 
  - Go-For (pronounced gopher)
    size: 50 x 50 x 50 cm (actual volume is very small)
    mass: 3 kg
    speed: 30 cm/s
    comments: This is the weird little yellow rover that looks sort of like
      a dog (named Rover, no doubt) without the head. It has four wheels,
      mounted on the ends of front and rear forks. The forks can be pivoted,
      which helps greatly with maneuverability. Normally, the forks are
      adjusted so that 80% or more of the body weight is on the rear wheels,
      which allows the front wheels to climb over obstacles as high as 70%
      of the length of the rover. The forks can be stretched out straight
      to allow the rover to lie flat, and the body can be tilted forward to
      get extreme close-ups of rocks or soil using a front-mounted camera.
      It can also drop microseismometers out the back, though it will only
      be allowed to do this in the pet exercise area. :-) If a maneuver
      is miscalculated and Go-For tumbles over on its back, the forks can be
      pivoted to turn it rightside-up again. (Few if any of the other rovers
      shown have the capability to right themselves, so they have to have
      safety systems to stop motion if they start to become unstable.)
 
      I saw Go-For operated twice, once while Rocky III was still running,
      and once while Robby was being demonstrated (they had to be careful
      to prevent Robby from running over Go-For). It worked very well,
      and successfully recovered from a tumble. Go-For was a great favorite
      with the kids, who mauled it mercilessly. It survived that, so I guess
      it should do pretty well in the less hostile environment of Mars. :-)
 
  - Robby
    size: 4 x 2 x 2.5 meters
    mass: 1.8 tons
    speed: 1 meter/s
    comments: Six 35-inch diameter wheels on a pivoting 3-part body, to allow
      it to go over obstacles about 3 feet high. It has four video cameras
      on a pivoting bar up top, and a robot arm in front. The camera bar
      sweeps up, down, and side to side as Robby maneuvers. It also has 
      a gyrocompass and attitude and articulation sensors. Robby scans
      the terrain with its black-and-white stereo cameras, then plans and
      executes a safe path. Autonomous navigation at the rate of 80 meters
      per hour has been demonstrated.
 
      During the demo, Robby was kept well away from the kids, so none of
      them were run over.
 
...............
 
Martin Marietta Corporation
 Astronautics Group
 Denver, Colorado
 
  - Beam Walker
    size: 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.2 meters
    mass: 160 kg
    speed: 3 cm/s
    comments: There are two sets of legs, which can move straight up and down
      either individually (I think) or together in sets. The outer set consists
      of two legs in front and one in back, mounted to the main frame of the 
      rover. The inner set is made up of four legs in a square configuration,
      mounted to an inner frame. In normal operation, the inner frame goes
      down, lifting the three outer legs off the ground. The inner frame 
      then glides backward relative to the rover body, causing the body
      to move forward relative to the ground. The inner frame then moves up,
      raising the inner legs off the ground and causing the rover to rest
      on the outer legs. In this position the inner frame then glides forward
      relative to the rover body, and the cycle repeats. Steering is 
      accomplished by rotating the inner frame while its legs are holding
      up the rover. I saw the demo.
 
...............
 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
 Cambridge, Massachusetts
 
  - MITy
    size: 53 x 34 x 35 cm
    mass: 10 kg
    speed: 45 cm/s
    comments: Scheduled for a demo.
 
...............
 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (hey, that's us!)
 Robotic Systems Division
 Bethesda, Maryland (didn't even know about the Bethesda site - I know
   there's some robotic work done at the Gaithersburg site - mainly computer
   control of advanced industrial robots, but also other projects such as the
   Flight Telerobotic Server (?) )
 
  - Spider
    size: 3.7 x 3.7 x 3.7 meters
    mass: 18 kg (very open framework)
    speed: 2.25 meters/s
    comments: It turned out that one of the people exhibiting it was an old
      friend from high school, who explained how it works. NIST has been
      working on a revolutionary type of crane, which consists of a batch of
      long poles connected to the ground at three anchor points, plus six 
      winches and cables, running through pulleys to a triangular central
      platform, where the crane equipment is attached. This structure is
      useful because of its stability, and because it can lift many times its
      own mass. Somebody apparently figured out that you could attach tractor
      treads in place of the ground anchor points with sophisticated angle
      detection sensors, add a long boom to the top with stereo cameras
      on the end, and make the crane into a rover. I was there for the
      second demo, but the control computer had blown out. However, there
      was a videotape showing it in operation. I still don't understand
      exactly how it works.
 
...............
 
Sandia National Laboratories
 Advanced Vehicle Systems
 Albuquerque, New Mexico
 
  - Dixie
    size: 1.6 x 1.0 x 1.0 meters
    mass: 180 kg
    speed: 13.5 meters/s
  - Raybot
    size: 1.9 x 1.0 x 1.0 meters
    mass: 180 kg
    speed: 11.25 meters/s
    comments: Dixie and Raybot are apparently converted small 3-4 wheel
      all-terrain vehicles (including the gasoline engines, though I didn't
      see them in operation - presumably a planetary version would have a
      different power source). Dixie and Raybot are designed to be used
      together, controlled from a single Command Driving Console (CDC).
      Raybot is similar to Dixie, but includes an advanced multiprocessor
      control architecture and an articulated arm at the rear of the robot.
 
      Dixie is driven out to an overlook position, from which it provides
      a wide-field stereo image to be used for analysis and planning.
      Dixie is then put into a safe state, with ignition [!] off and the
      parking brake set, and the operator switches control from Dixie to
      Raybot. Raybot is moved to a specified location within the field of
      view of Dixie, and the robot arm and scientific equipment used.
      Control may be switched back and forth between the two rovers to
      change their positions.
 
      Dixie and Raybot were scheduled to be demonstrated together.
 
  - Ratler
    size: 60 x 60 x 46 cm
    mass: 15 kg
    speed: 10 cm/s
    comments: Scheduled to be demonstrated.
 
...............
 
General comments:
 
 - Most (but not all) of the rovers described are intended to have some 
   degree of autonomy in their final application. In the live demos, I
   think most of these were more directly controlled than would be the case
   in normal use. As one speaker put it, these demos were intended mainly
   to show the mechanical capability of the rovers - in many cases, autonomous
   control systems are not yet fully functional. There was also the matter of
   controlling the rovers in the limited environment of a tent with people
   in it - even Robby, which has demonstrated autonomous operation, was
   probably pretty closely monitored to keep it from damaging the set or
   hitting the spectators.
 
 - According to one speaker, the typical maximum slope most of the rovers can
   negotiate in loose soil is around 30 degrees, because of the physics
   involved.
 
 - Many of the speakers were optimistic about getting their rovers into
   off-earth use within the decade.
 
 - A lot of the information in the comments above is from literature that
   was available at the show. Not all the booths had literature, but I
   was there late on the second day, so there may have been more at the
   beginning. JPL had nice big color photos of all four of their rovers.
 
 - For the most part, the representatives were very informative and helpful.
   I was impressed by the heavy involvement of the Planetary Society. (Of
   course, this is probably the one technical thing that they do really well.)
   I'll have to watch the NASA Select tape I got of their Case for Mars
   conference, and decide once again whether I want to sign up. I get
   some impression that they're slightly more technical and less political
   than in the past. At least, the fact that they're supporting rovers to
   Mars before humans is encouraging (since it's something the space program
   can afford now).
 
 - I've tried to double check all the information, but there could still be
   errors.
 
 - I was only there a few hours of one day, so I only saw a few of the rovers
   in operation. However, I got some good 3D video (same format as JPL uses)
   of those demos, plus the rest of the rovers on display. When I review the
   video, if I come up with any additional information or corrections, I'll
   try to post.
 
Overall, I'd say the Rover Expo was very interesting, and was very well
attended.
 
John Roberts
[email protected]
 
Article: 48168
From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space,comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Notes from Rover Expo
Date: 6 Sep 92 02:00:39 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (Usenet)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (John Roberts) writes... 

>  - Rocky IV (not present at show)
>    size: 60 cm long by 45 cm wide
>    mass: 7.2 kg
>    speed: ?
>    comments: Interest in use as Mars Environmental Survey Pathfinder.
>      Same basic design as Rocky III. Deploys microseismometers, scoops
>      soil samples, and chips rock surfaces. This is the model that uses
>      stereo cameras with alternate-field liquid crystal shutter goggles
>      for the operators. I spoke with the JPL people, and they said they're
>      using standard NTSC format, 30 frames per second. Onboard spectrometer.
 
Rocky IV was shown in a demo to the media on June 26 at JPL.  I've
appended some information taken from the associated press release. 
Most of the instruments carried by the Rover were developed by the
Micro Electronics lab at JPL.  During the demo, Rocky IV carried a
seisometer and placed it some distance from the spacecraft.  The
seisometer is only 1.5 inches long, weighs 160 grams and has a
sensitivity of 1 nanoG.  The color camera on the rover weighs only 97g
and can withstand a 50G landing.  The spectrometer is about 4 inches
and weighs 350 grams.  The chipper is about 8 inches long looks like a
long narrow spear.  The chipper is aimed at a rock and when turned on,
it acts like a miniature jackhammer to chip away the rock's surface.
The spectrometer can then be used to analyze the rock's interior
composition. 
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Rocky IV is slightly smaller in size than its predecessor, Rocky
III. Rocky IV is 24 inces (61 centimeters) long, 15 inches (38 cm)
wide and 14 inches (36 cm) high.  The rover has six 5-inch-diameter
(13 cm diameter) wheels made of strips of steel foil and cleats to
provide traction.  It weighs about 16 pounds (7 kilograms), but
eventually will have to be scaled down to about 8 pounds (4 kg) for
inclusion in the final MESUR Network mission set. 
 
     Sensors along the frame of the rover will help Rocky navigate. 
If the front set of wheels encounters a cliff or a steep drop-off, the
rover can brake in time to prevent a tumble.  Excessive tilt is also
sensed and the rover can stop to prevent a rollover. 
 
     Rocky IV carries two "real" science instruments: a visible-light
spectrometer, with a range of 0.5 micron to 1.0 micron, and a color
camera. The spectrometer and camera will be boresighted (or "nested"
within each other) to view the same target.  They are enclosed by a
lightweight box in the center of the rover. 
 
     Other "instruments" include a chipper that will be able to chip
away the thin coverings of material on rocks; a soft-sand scoop to
take soil samples; and a seismometer on board the lander that Rock IV
will be instructed to move to some designated place on the Martian
surface. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Anything is impossible if
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you don't attempt it.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

Article: 3639
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.local.pennsylvania,clari.tw.science
Subject: Carnegie Mellon robot breaks legs, Antarctic project off
Date: 5 Nov 92 13:55:27 GMT
 
	PITTSBURGH (UPI) -- Plans by Carnegie Mellon University of
Pittsburgh to send a robot into an Antarctic volcano this month have been 
delayed at least one year after the robot broke four of its eight legs. 

	The robot, called Dante, was to be shipped to Antarctica at
the end of this week for its mission to explore inside the crater of
the active volcano Mount Erebus.  While going through final tests
Wednesday, the robot broke welds in four of its legs during a climb on
rough terrain. 

	The Antarctic mission is off for this season because of a
short summer, but CMU will continue to work on the robots. 

	The National Aeronauctics and Space Administration sponsored the 
project because of its interest in developing robots for extraterrestrial 
exploration. 

Article: 52555
Organization: Sophomore, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: sci.space
Date: Wed,  2 Dec 1992 14:25:10 -0500 
From: Samuel John Kass <[email protected]>
Subject: Fwd: Robot To Explore Volcano
 
I promised I'd post again if any news about Dante came around
campus... So here's the latest. - Sam
 
-- Disclaimer:  Everything is true. - [email protected]               --
-- A Math/CS major at Carnegie Mellon University --  Beward the fnords.  --
 
---------- Forwarded message begins here ----------
 
Date: Wed,  2 Dec 1992 12:57:13 -0500 (EST)
Subject:Robot To Explore Volcano
 
A NEWS RELEASE FROM THE CARNEGIE MELLON DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
 
Carnegie Mellon Robot Will Leave for Antarctica
To Explore Crater of Mt. Erebus, an Active Volcano
 
	PITTSBURGH--A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon
University's Robotics Institute will leave for Antarctica Dec. 10 with
a unique, eight-legged walking robot named Dante they have built to
explore the crater of Mt. Erebus, a live volcano. 
	
The purpose of the expedition, which is sponsored by NASA and the
National Science Foundation, is to test robotic technologies under
extremely harsh conditions as a precursor to exploring Mars, and to
gather information about Mt. Erebus and its emissions that up to now
has been impossible to obtain. 
	
Mt. Erebus is the only easily accessible volcano in the world that
contains a permanent lava lake inside its crater. It's an important
source of information, but scientists have been stymied in their
attempts to gather data because the volcano erupts without warning.
Dante will be able to collect valuable data without exposing
researchers to a live volcano's hazards. 
	
Four scientists from Carnegie Mellon and four from the New Mexico
Institute of Mining & Technology (NMT), Socorro, N.M., will accompany
Dante on its odyssey. Carnegie Mellon's principal investigator,
William L. "Red" Whittaker, an internationally known robotics expert,
will lead the expedition with NMT's Philip R. Kyle, a 20-year veteran
of volcanic research in Antarctica. 
	
James Osborn, project manager at Carnegie Mellon, will operate a
"mission control" station at the Goddard Space Flight Center
(Greenbelt, Md.), with two-way data communication and live video
feedback from the frozen continent via a NASA satellite link. 
 
After arriving in Antarctica, the researchers will set up a base
station two kilometers (1.4 miles) from the rim of Mt. Erebus' crater.
Dante will be transported to the top of the 12,447-foot-high mountain
on a cart equipped with an electric winch. The cart, which researchers
named Geryon, is one of several references to Dante Aligheri's classic
"Inferno," where Erebus was a region of darkness in the underworld to
which dead souls were sent. 
	 
When Geryon reaches the mountaintop, controllers at the base station
will order Dante off the cart. Other researchers will anchor its
lifeline, a one-quarter-inch-wide tether containing power and data
wires, to the edge of the crater, and position the robot for its
descent into the mountain.  The tether, which also is attached to the
cart for communication purposes, will slowly unreel as Dante
"sees"~and feels its way down the sheer crater walls with the help of
a laser range finder, 3-D video cameras and "eyes" in its robotic
feet. For much of the expedition, Dante's onboard computers will
receive instructions from operators at the base station and it will
interpret those commands into robot actions. 
	
It will take Dante 24 to 36 hours to make the 850-foot descent to the
crater floor. If all goes well, it may stay as long as eight-hours,
measuring gas composition, recording temperatures of the lava lake and
retrieving samples of hot gases and aerosols directly from vents near
the lake. Information will be transmitted to the base station and on
to the mission control station at Goddard Air Force Base. 
	
For the return trip, Dante must reverse its course and climb up the
crater walls using the tension on the tether for support. 
	
"The Erebus mission offers an opportunity to test technologies
developed during more than seven years of research on Carnegie
Mellon's autonomous driving (NavLab) and Mars exploration (Ambler)
projects in a very harsh environment," said Whittaker. "Both NASA and
the National Science Foundation consider this Antarctic expedition a
precursor to planetary exploration by robots, since it most closely
approximates extraterrestrial environments. Missions to the Moon and
Mars will require robots to withstand harsh conditions, operate for
extended periods and understand and navigate challenging terrain. The
Erebus project will provide useful insights for designing more capable
robots, developing effective human/robot interactions and planning
future missions." 
 
According to Kyle, volcanoes may play an important role in diminishing
Earth's ozone layer. He said recent measurements suggest Erebus may be
a key source of sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids in
the Antarctic atmosphere. The gases may remain in the atmosphere long
enough to mix into the stratosphere and contribute to the destruction
of the ozone layer. 
 
    Samuel John Kass <[email protected]>

Charles Redmond/Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                   December 22, 1992


Randee Exler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.



EDITORS NOTE:  N92-111


        Dante, an eight-legged NASA robot, will provide live video of its
descent down the steep inner rim to the lava lake of the Antarctic volcano Mt.
Erebus during a technology demonstration and science expedition to begin about
Dec. 28.

        The robot demonstration is a joint NASA and National Science Foundation
undertaking using the Antarctic as a demonstration site for robotic exploration
development which could be used during future lunar or Martian missions.

        The robotic exploration of the live Mt. Erebus volcano will take a
minimum of 3 days.  Each day, the Antarctic team will transmit five 20-minute
live video feeds from cameras mounted atop the robot.

        The feeds will be transmitted from Mt. Erebus via NASA's Tracking and
Data Relay Satellite-West to the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
NASA will issue further media advisories via the Goddard Broadcast News Service
(301/286-NEWS) when the dates and times of the feeds are better known.

        NASA also will provide commentary on the robot's progress provided by
robotics and volcano experts at Goddard. The television feed and commentary
will be available both at Goddard and on NASA Select television.

        A news operation will be active at the Goddard Visitor Center on Soil
Conservation Road during these activities.  Media wishing to participate will
be able to access Goddard's payload operations activities via closed circuit
television.  Background materials, both print and video, will be available
prior to the first live video feed.

Article 2752 of sci.space.news:
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From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Dante Advisory
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Date: Mon, 28 Dec 1992 21:15:00 GMT
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Lines: 71

Charles Redmond
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.   December 28, 1992
(Phone:  301/286-6256)

DANTE ADVISORY

ROBOT AND TEAM ARRIVE SAFELY AT MT. EREBUS BASE CAMP

	Dante, an 8-legged NASA Robot, and the twelve member 
government/university team undertaking the robotic exploration, 
have arrived safely at the base of the live Antarctic volcano, 
Mt. Erebus.  The team has successfully established 
telecommunications between themselves and the Goddard Space 
Flight Center via the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.

	There is the possibility the Antarctic team might be able 
to transmit at 4:20 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. EST today video of 
their preparation activities taped during the past several 
days.  

	When Dante begins its descent into the crater of the 
volcano, the team will provide live video during several 20-
minute feeds a day.  These feeds will occur during 8:00 am and 
4:00 pm.  The earliest the team estimates the descent will 
occur is no sooner than Wednesday, Dec. 30.  There is no 
current estimate of the time of these feeds.  Also, local 
weather is a factor and the team is taking longer than 
orginally expected to accomplish certain tasks, so the estimate 
of Wednesday could be early.

	The robot's exploration down the steep inner rim of Mt. 
Erebus to the lava lake of the Antarctic volcano is a 
technology demonstration and science expedition between NASA 
and the National Science Foundation.   For most of the robot's 
expected exploration activities, it will be under the local 
control of the Antarctic team.

	However, portions of the robot exploration will be 
controlled from a payload control center at Goddard.  This will 
be the longest distance ever for live robotic control and 
simulates what may be in store for NASA's further exploration 
activities with humans and robots on Mars.  Carnegie-Mellon 
University and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and 
Technology are partners with NASA and the NSF as robotics and 
volcano experimenters.

	Robotic exploration of the live Mt. Erebus volcano will 
take a minimum of 3 days.  Each day, the Antarctic team expects 
to transmit five 20-minute live video feeds from cameras 
mounted atop the robot or from atop rim of the volcano.

	The feeds will be transmitted from Mt. Erebus via NASA's 
Tracking and Relay Data Satellite West to Goddard.  NASA will 
issue further media advisories when the dates and times of the 
feeds are  known. (Call 301/286-6397 for recorded update 
information.)  

	NASA also will provide commentary on the robot's progress 
provided by robotics and volcano experts at Goddard.  The 
television feed and commentary will be available both at 
Goddard and on NASA Select Televison.

-end-

     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Choose a job you love, and
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you'll never have to work
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | a day in your life. 

Article 455 of alt.sci.planetary:
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From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Dante Advisory #3
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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Charles Redmond
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Md.                        Dec. 30, 1992
(Phone:  301/286-8955)

DANTE ADVISORY #3

ROBOT POISED AND READY FOR DESCENT INTO VOLCANO

        The 8-legged rappelling robot Dante was being placed into 
position at the rim of the Antarctic volcano Mt. Erebus late 
on December 30 in preparation for its descent down the steep 
slopes on Thursday, Dec. 31.  Dave Lavery, the Erebus 
project manager, said from the Antarctic that the team 
expected the robot to be actively descending the 70 degree 
slopes of the inner rim of the volcano by early morning on 
Thursday.

        NASA will provide a live video feed of the Dante robot 
activities, including the first live transmission from the 
robot's onboard television camera system, beginning at 8:15 
am EST and continuing through 9:00 am.

        The live video will continue later Thursday with 
live feeds showing the robot's point of view as it navigates 
slowly down the steep slope of the volcano.  Thursday video 
feed times have been set for 12:35 through 1:25 pm EST, 
2:10 pm through 3:40 pm, 3:42 pm through 3:57 pm, 
4:20 pm through 5:25 pm, 5:50 pm through 6:10 pm, and 
7:25 pm through 8:25 pm.  All of this video will be available on 
the NASA Select satellite as it is received by the communications 
support team at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

        During the 8:15 am through 9:00 am EST video period, Dave 
Lavery and possibly other members of the combined NASA-
National Science Foundation-university team at the volcano 
will provide a live audio commentary of the activity.  The 
video feeds are being transmitted from a remote NASA 
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite portable station set up on 
the ice at the team's base hut, several thousand feet below 
the volcano rim.  The audio portion will be transmitted 
through a communications link through the INMARSAT 
satellite.

        NASA will also provide a commentary from participating 
robotic and geophysical science team members during the 
Antarctic video feeds beginning at 12:35 pm EST.  The audio 
commentary will originate from robotic specialists from 
Carnegie-Mellon University, who built the $2 million robot 
system for NASA, and from NASA Goddard scientists involved 
in the geochemical and geophysical science investigations 
which the robot will perform once it reaches the floor of 
the crater.

        A similar video support schedule at approximately the same 
Eastern Standard times is being developed for Friday and 
Saturday.  If all goes according to current plans, Dante is 
to spend Friday exploring the lava lake in the crater floor 
of Mt. Erebus to provide geophysical and atmospheric 
chemistry data about the volcano's outgassing and the 
composition of the lava lake.  The team expects to have 
Dante begin its climb back up to the rim on Saturday, but 
that could be delayed by science observations until Sunday.

PROJECT IS DEVELOPING FUTURE EXPLORATION CAPABILITIES

        NASA and the National Science Foundation are undertaking 
this demonstration project to develop technology and 
telecommunications capabilities which NASA could use in 
future explorations of the Moon or Mars and which the NSF 
might apply to its ongoing research activities in the 
Antarctic.  Part of the test involves transferring control 
of the robot from the Mt. Erebus team to team members 
located at a payload control center at Goddard.  This 
portion of the project will test the "telepresence" 
capabilities of such robots for future NASA exploration 
missions and could occur during Friday or Saturday's lava 
lake exploration phase.

        Carnegie-Mellon University and the New Mexico Institute of 
Mining and Technology are partners with NASA and the NSF as 
robotics and volcano experimenters for this project.

        The following paragraphs have been abstracted from the 
message stream which Dave Lavery has been providing to the 
Carnegie-Mellon staff and other associates of the project who are 
located in a temporary payload operations control room at 
the Goddard Space Flight Center.  These messages have been
sent via the TDRS satellite from computers in the Erebus project
tent on the slope of Mt. Erebus and received by the POCC computers
at Goddard.  It is from this POCC that Jim Osborn, CMU Erebus 
project manager and four other CMU 
robotics experts will perform the remote control test to 
simulate "telepresence" activities.  These messages are 
abstracted from the past two days and cover the period from 
December 29 through 30 (Eastern) and 31(Antarctic Time):

****The following message posted by Erebus project manager 
Dave Lavery on Dec. 29 (local Antarctic time, which is EST 
plus 17 hours) describes the crater of Mt. Erebus:

"At the rim, the outer crater is about 750 feet across.  
Approaching from the ascent path, the slope is about 45 
degrees which nearly levels off to a twenty-foot side shelf 
at the edge of the crater itself.  The crater slopes away at 
a 60-degree angle very quickly, with a very short transition 
area, for about 100 feet.

"From there on down to the lava lake is a combination of 60-
to 90-degree slopes strewn with boulders and ice towers 
ranging from one to four feet in size.  About 700 feet down 
inside the crater is a very large fumarole that has recently 
appeared which is pounding out gases like an old steam 
engine which is right in line with the descent route and may 
become a primary target for gas sampling.

"The crater itself was fairly clear of gases most of the 
time that I was at the rim, and I had direct visibility down 
into the inner crater. The gases and steam from the crater 
are coming from the lava lake itself and from the fumarole 
fields, most of which are on the far side of the crater wall 
from our worksite.

"The consistency of the outer cone material is fairly poor.  
It is made up of a combination of desiccated lava bombs and 
rock crystals which are all very loosely bound together by 
crushed lava and ice.  Most of the exposed surfaces are then 
covered with a thin layer of sulfur deposited from the 
crater (which gives everything this weird green fuzzy 
appearance!)."

****The following message posted by Erebus project manager 
Dave Lavery on Dec. 30 (local Antarctic time, which is EST 
plus 17 hours) describes the finishing activities of placing 
the robot Dante and its carrier Geryon in place at the 
crater rim:

"Geryon, with Dante aboard, had been pulled to within 600 
meters of the Erebus
crater rim when work was stopped this morning at 1:00 am 
local time.  We anticipate that it will require four more 
winch pulls by Geryon to attain the crater rim.  Each winch 
pull involves driving two or three anchors into the ice with 
sledgehammers (each anchor is a five-foot length of  2-1/2 
inch diameter steel pipe), running out up to 200 meters of 
winch cable from the winch on Geryon to the anchors, slowly 
winching in to the anchor point, then repeating the process.

"The only problem we have really had so far is that we are 
running short of sledgehammers.  The handles become 
relatively brittle in the cold, and they keep breaking.

"We have received a question about the composition of the 
group currently at the Lower Erebus Hut (located about 1500 
feet below and 1-1/2 miles from the crater rim).

"Currently at the camp are: Red Whittaker (Carnegie-Mellon 
University, director of the CMU Field Robotics Center and 
chief project scientist); Eric Hoffman (CMU/K2T, designer of 
the Dante mechanism); Dan Christian (CMU, software 
specialist); Dave Wettergreen (CMU, software specialist); 
Dave Lavery (NASA, Telerobotics Program Manager, 
communications and videography); Phil Kyle (New Mexico 
Institute of Mining and Technology, principal research 
scientist and Mt. Erebus expert);  Sara Krall (Antarctic 
Support Associates, camp director and cook); Ken Sims 
(Antarctic Support Associates, mountaineer); and Steve 
Thompson (NASA/GSFC, TDRSS communications specialist).

"Also helping out  are Nelia Dunbar (NMIMT, volcanology 
researcher) and Bill Macintosh (NMIMT, volcanology 
researcher).  Bill and Nelia are here working under a 
separate grant doing their own research, but have been 
assisting the project quite a bit when manpower and Erebus 
expertise are needed.;

****The following message posted by Erebus project manager 
Dave Lavery on Dec. 31 (local Antarctic time, which is EST
plus 17 hours) describes their accomplishment of the outer 
rim ascent and preparations for the robot descent:

"As of 1800 hours, Geryon and Dante have completed the 
ascent of the outer cone of Mt. Erebus.  Once Geryon was 
aligned with the "launch point" for Dante's descent into the 
volcano crater, it was anchored in place.  Fittings and 
equipment for the final outfitting of the robot were then 
moved up to the launch point and stored for the evening.

"The final activity for the day was running the fiber optic 
cable from Geryon's position down the mountain to the Lower 
Erebus Hut to the operator control station.  This involved 
spooling out the fiber optic cable approximately 2 
kilometers to the hut, and then verifying the communications 
over the fiber.  As of 2300, the video and audio signals 
from Dante on the rim were being received at the control 
stations, and the communications to the robot appears to be 
fully operational.

"The plans for Dante's closeout tomorrow morning include 
assembling and installing the sensor mast (including the 
trinocular video system, the laser scanner and the 
teleoperated camera), completing the installation of the 
science package, validating the fiber optic communications, 
and final sealing of all enclosures.  After that, Dante will 
stand up off Geryon, Geryon will be removed, and Dante will 
squat down on the ground in preparation for "launching."  
When ready, Dante will be manually positioned at the 
transition point into the crater and slid over the lip of 
the crater rim.  The onboard and remote control systems will 
then take over and the robot will stand and begin the 
descent into the crater.

"This afternoon's ascent included my second trip up to the 
rim of the crater. The crater interior was much calmer today 
than during my last trip a few days ago.  The cyclonic winds 
emanating from the crater were more sedate, with what seemed 
like about half of the velocity of the previous visit.

"The plume from the lava lake itself was much milder, with 
clear visibility down to the inner crater.  Occasional puffs 
of steam reached as high as the outer crater rim, but rarely 
went above that.  Without the intense plume activity of the 
other day, and the milder winds, we were able to spend about 
three hours at the rim without too much trouble.  The rim of 
the crater is covered with a combination of crystallized 
lava and lava bombs.  The lava bombs are ejected 
periodically by the lava lake during eruptions, and vary in 
size from a few inches to several feet across.  They are 
primarily composed of lava glass, and weather away fairly 
quickly.  Within a year or two, they are almost completely 
disintegrated.  When they are completely decomposed by 
weathering, they leave behind lava crystals which were 
embedded in the bomb.  The crystals are anywhere up to three 
inches or so in length, and are all over the place.  They 
are pretty neat, but actually make for fairly precarious 
footing as they tend to slide over each other when stepped 
upon."

****End of this set of messages****
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Choose a job you love, and
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you'll never have to work
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | a day in your life. 

Article 2771 of sci.space.news:
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From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Dante Advisory #4
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 16:35:00 GMT
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Charles Redmond
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Md.                     Jan 1, 1993
(Phone:  301/286-8955)

DANTE ADVISORY #4

As of 8:35 pm January 1, the Dante robot was suspended about
21 feet below the crater rim at Mt. Erebus, Antarctica,
while the project team there reset the computers which
operate the robot's depth-perception and walking systems.

The robot had been successfully "launched" from its
stationary position at the top of the 750-foot deep crater
at about 2:00 am EST January 1 and had begun crawling down
the 40-degree incline towards the crater floor, suspended by
a critical support cable being reeled out by the robot
itself.

The computer reset was required because of activities which
had occurred the day before when both the Antarctic Erebus
"hut" computers and the remote computers located at the
Goddard Space Flight Center Dante payload control room were
both in communication with and controlling the robot.  This
"telerobotic" operation is one of the major objectives of
this joint NASA-National Science Foundation demonstration
project.

The Goddard computer connection was lost as a natural
consequence of losing the satellite connection through the
Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-West.  The satellite
communications between Antarctica and Goddard are scheduled
for pre-set periods each day.  The computer network connects
the Erebus computers and enables them all to function as a
distributed computing system.

In the Antarctic location there are several of these
computers, some of which are located in the operations hut
about 1.5 miles away from the volcano's rim, and one which
is located right on the rim.  When communications are
established between Antarctica and Goddard through the TDRS
satellite, the Goddard computers are added to the robot
network.

COMPUTER PROBLEM DESCRIBED AS COMMON

James Osborn, the Goddard-based Erebus project manager from
Carnegie-Mellon University's Robotics Institute, said this
type of computer problem is quite common in universities and
is easily fixed now that the team is aware of the problem.

Fixing this situation, Osborn said, is a simple matter of
resetting all the computers.  In the case of the one located
on the rim, Eric Hoffman, a member of the Carnegie-Mellon
team located at the Mt. Erebus site, would have to actually
go to the rim since the team believed their attempts to
reset the computers using software were not adequate.

Osborn said the Antarctic team was expecting to have this
problem fixed sometime between the last communications with
Goddard at 8:35 pm EST Jan. 1, and the first communications
session scheduled for Jan. 2 at 1:30 pm EST.  Dave Lavery,
the Erebus program manager also located in the Antarctic,
expected the team to have advanced the robot's position
several more hundred feet lower into the crater by early
afternoon on Saturday, Jan. 2, Eastern Time.

An earlier problem with the robot's tether reel mechanism
had delayed the launch of the robot yesterday and was
finally resolved when the Erebus team members decided to
physically modify the mechanism by removing a portion of the
winding system.

REEL MECHANISM WAS STICKING DUE TO COLD

The reel mechanism is very much like the reel on a fishing
rod and has a device which moves back and forth like a
bobbin to lay the reel smoothly onto the spool.  The
"bobbin" had been sticking because of the very cold
temperatures.  The Erebus team had sprayed lubricant on the
mechanism in several attempts to get it to operate smoothly,
but ultimately removed it completely.

Dave Lavery said this would present no problems to the
descent and bottom-of-the-crater exploration phases of this
project because the tether was properly tensioned and wound
smoothly.  It was only the rewinding of the tether onto the
reel which presented a possible problem.  Lavery said the
team understood the risk of this possibly inhibiting the
robot's safe return up the crater wall but was willing to
accept the risk to get the descent and exploration phase
underway.

The current schedule according to both Lavery and Osborn
calls for a two-and-a-half day descent and exploration phase
beginning at approximately 2:00 pm EST today and lasting
through Sunday, January 3.  During this period the robot
will descend down 70- to 90-degree slopes on the volcano's
inner rim wall and will traverse across about 150 feet of
crater floor to a molten lava lake.

PROJECT IS DEMONSTRATING NEW EXPLORATION CAPABILITIES

NASA and the National Science Foundation are undertaking
this demonstration project to develop technology and
telecommunications capabilities which NASA could use in
future explorations of the Moon or Mars and which the NSF
might apply to its ongoing research activities in the
Antarctic.  Part of the test involving the transfer of
control of the robot from the Mt. Erebus team to team
members located at a payload control center at Goddard was
successfully tested yesterday, Dec. 31 Eastern Time.

Carnegie-Mellon University and the New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology are partners with NASA and the NSF as
robotics and volcano experimenters for this project.
Carnegie-Mellon has four team members located on the
Antarctic ice and an additional five team members located at
the Goddard payload control center as part of this project.
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has two
members associated with this project and two members
associated with an allied project on the ice for the Erebus
demonstration.
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Choose a job you love, and
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you'll never have to work
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | a day in your life. 

Article 2772 of sci.space.news:
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From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Dante Advisory #5
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Followup-To: sci.space
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Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 16:37:00 GMT
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Lines: 255

Charles Redmond
Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Md.                        Jan 2, 199
(Phone:  301/286-8955)

DANTE ADVISORY #5
(all other things being, equal, the FINAL Dante Advisory)

At 5:10 pm Eastern Standard Time Saturday, January 2, the
Erebus project team located on the ice at the foot of the
Mt. Erebus volcano in Antarctica called off any further
exploration by the 8-legged rappelling robot Dante because
of a physical break in the fiber optical cable which
connects the robot with the computers providing its machine
intelligence.

The team reported the results of a day's troubleshooting
during a one-hour-long video conference which included their
colleagues located at the remote robot control site at the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.  The
conference was called following what had been a series of
seemingly minor problems which had cropped up during the
past two days in attempts to deploy the robot down the 750-
foot deep, nearly vertical incline, from the rim of the
continuously active volcano to the lava lake below.

At the time the team called off any further mission
operation, the robot Dante remained suspended approximately
21 feet below the rim of the crater having been successfully
launched yesterday.  Dante had moved the 21 feet on its own
during initial testing of the robot control mechanisms and
had been halted in its further progress by what, at the
time, seemed to be computer network problems.

The team reported that further trouble-shooting of the
computer network problem disclosed kinks in the fiber
optical cable which connects the sensors and motor
mechanisms of the robot with the computer systems which
provide Dante with a depth perception capability and a self-
navigation capability.  The team, in examining the fiber
optical cable kinks, caused a break which stopped all
communications between the robot and the controlling
computers.  In this passage, transmitted from Antarctica
early this morning Eastern time, Dave Lavery, the project
supervisor and the NASA telerobotic program manager, reports
how this situation arose:

"By late in the afternoon, the problem had been isolated to
the fiber optic cable which stretches between the robot and
the control station two kilometers away.  It was found that
the passive deployment system which releases the fiber from
the robot as it walks had formed multiple kinks in the fiber
which had reduced data communications to the robot.  At 1955
hours, while removing the fiber optic cable from the
deployment mechanism, the fiber was severed entirely,
cutting off all communications with the robot.  Without
integrity in this cable, the robot cannot operate."

During the conference today, the Erebus project team located
in Antarctica indicated they have a rescue plan for the
robot Dante which the team simulated in practice sessions
held in Pittsburgh before their arrival in the Antarctic on
Dec. 15.  This rescue plan calls for using the Dante robot
carrier Geryon to hoist the robot up from its current
position to the top of the volcano rim.  From there, the
team will place Dante on Geryon and then move back down the
approximately 1.5 miles from the rim to the base camp.

Once at the base camp, Dante and Geryon will be disassembled
and placed into the shipping crates which were used to get
them from Pittsburgh to the Antarctic.  The rest of the base
camp will be similarly broken down and prepared for shipment
back through McMurdo Sound station.  The team estimated that
the rescue of the robot to the rim position could take from
one to two days beginning tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 3 Eastern
Time.  The trip down the mountain to the base camp could be
done in one or two days, depending on local weather
conditions.

The team must also break down the communications gear and
antenna which allowed for transmission of video and computer
data through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite and the
computers which are presently located in the base camp hut.
This process could take as much as five days.

The team reported that one of the considerations in their
decision to call the demonstration project off at this point
was the time period remaining until they must leave the side
of the volcano.  By January 15 the team has to be back at
McMurdo station because of impending ice-up of the Ross Sea
and a worsening of general weather conditions.  This time
constraint has existed all along but became of higher
importance when the break in the fiber optical cable
occurred.

The team indicated they had contacted McMurdo Station and
determined that a replacement fiber cable was not available,
nor were connectors for this type of cable which might have
allowed for a repair operation of this cable.  The
supporting team at the Goddard payload operations control
center was able to find a supplier for identical cable but
could not guarantee delivery of that cable to the Antarctic
in time to make the repair, perform the rest of the descent
down into the volcano and still get the robot back up to the
top and pack everything up in time to depart on January 15.

Dave Lavery said during the conference that the team
considered the project an "unqualified success" in one of
the three primary objectives, that of testing the remote
control of a robot.  The Carnegie-Mellon University team
located at Goddard had successfully commanded the Dante
robot the previous day while the robot was poised at the rim
awaiting its deployment into the volcano crater.

The robot demonstration project had three objectives: to
test telerobotic capabilities; to test the use of such
sophisticated hardware in a very harsh and demanding
environment; and to test the use of advanced computer
programs which would enable machines such as the Dante robot
to act under a form of machine intelligence.  According to
Lavery, the first two objectives of this experiment were
met.  The robot never got to a point where it was under
operation of its own autonomous control systems.

NASA and the National Science Foundation undertook this
demonstration project to develop technology  and
telecommunications capabilities which NASA could use in
future explorations of the Moon or Mars and which the NSF
might apply to its ongoing research activities in the
Antarctic.

Part of the test involved transferring control of the robot
from the Mt. Erebus team to team members  located at the
Goddard payload control center.  This  portion of the
project tested the "telepresence"  capabilities of such
robots for future NASA exploration  missions and is the
portion of the demonstration which was tested and called an
unqualified success.

Carnegie-Mellon University and the New  Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology are partners with  NASA and the NSF as
robotics and volcano experimenters for  this project.  Team
members from Carnegie-Mellon were located both in the
Antarctic and at Goddard.  New Mexico Tech members were
located at the Mt. Erebus portion.  The robot included six
different sensors which were to have provided significant
and new date about the physical and chemical composition of
gasses and aerosols being released into the atmosphere by
the Mt. Erebus volcano.

The following sets of quotations come from the video
conference which began at 5:10 pm EST Saturday, Jan. 2, and
represent the comments from the team leader, Dave Lavery,
and the two co-principal investigators of this project --
Professor Phillip Kyle, representing the science side of the
project and William "Red" Whittaker, representing the
robotic side of the project.

David Lavery, NASA Telerobotics program manager:

"There is obvious disappointment over what is a component
failure, but we're proud of what we've accomplished.  We've
gone further than anyone said was possible and much farther
than anyone said we would get.

"We've made tremendous progress and compressed five years of
work into one year.

"The mission is an unqualified success in terms of the
telerobotic aspects.  The robot works.  The prototypes are
worthy contenders for inclusion in any further planetary
exploration.  The aspects of sending autonomous robots on
planetary exploration mission has been proven as well.

"We were given in January 1992, when we started this
project, odds of about 20 percent of probably successful
completion.  This was a very, very risky venture.  This has
been a true adventure.  Our spirits remain undaunted."


Phillip Kyle, New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Tech. and co-
principal investigator:

"This has whetted the appetite of volcanologists everywhere.
This was the ultimate challenge.  There is no more nastier
volcano.  It has been a remarkable achievement.

"I think of this as one small step and expect we will be
seeing robots exploring inside volcanoes around the world in
a few years.

"This demonstration project showed we could integrate
science into a robot."


William "Red" Whittaker, Carnegie-Mellon Univ. and co-
principal investigator:

"We are calling it off because of a fiber optical cable
break for which we have no workaround.

"The achievement has been tremendous.  We've written over
150,000 lines of new software code.  We've used the ground
station for the first time.

"This has been a dream program.  It was inspirational work
and I'm really proud of what we've done.  We've made a bold
leap and pushed this technology from the laboratory into the
real world.

"This is just one example of what must be thousands of
similar applications.  This was the real thing.  This robot
left the laboratory and had a real job with a real science
customer.

"We've learned a great deal during this experience in
Antarctica, especially about self-reliance and ingenuity.

"This has really been a dream year.  It called for the best
in a lot of people"



Participants in the conference from Antarctica
were the following individuals:

David Lavery, NASA Headquarters
Steve Thompson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
William Whittaker, Carnegie-Mellon University
Eric Hoffman, CMU
Dan Christian, CMU
David Wettergreen, CMU
Phillip Kyle, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Nelia Dunbar, NMIMT
Bill Macintosh, NMIMT
Sara Krall, Antarctic Support Associates-National Science
Foundation
Ken Sims, ASA-NSF

Participants located in the temporary robot control center
at Goddard during this conference:

James Osborn, Carnegie-Mellon University
Paul Keller, CMU
Jay West, CMU
Chris Fedor, CMU
Jim Christo, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Bob Rodriguez, NASA GSFC Bendix Field Engineering Company
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Choose a job you love, and
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you'll never have to work
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | a day in your life. 

Article: 2089
From: [email protected] (Ralph Merkle)
Newsgroups: sci.nanotech
Subject: 1980 NASA study on self-replicating systems
Date: 3 Feb 93 02:53:06 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
 
In 1980 NASA conducted a workshop on "Advanced Automation for Space
Missions."  A substantial portion of the resulting report discussed a
self-replicating lunar manufacturing facility.  Chapter 5,
"Replicating systems concepts: Self-replicating lunar factory and
demonstration" is about 150 pages long (the entire report is about 400
pages). The chapter reviews self-replicating systems in general, Von
Neumann's work on self-replicating systems in particular, discusses
various strategies for self-replication, and goes into considerable
detail in the design of a lunar self-replicating system based on
conventional technology.  The "seed" system would be 100 tons -- about
4 Apollo missions to the Moon. 
 
In the "Conclusions and Recommendations" they say:
 
-----------------------------------
The Replicating Systems Concept Team reached the following
technical conclusions:
 
   o    The theoretical concept of machine duplication is
        well developed.  There are several alternative
        strategies by which machine self-replication can be
        carried out in a practical engineering setting.
 
   o    There is also available a body of theoretical automation
        concepts in the realm of machine construction by machine,
        in machine inspection of machines, and machine repair
        of machines, which can be drawn upon to engineer practical
        systems capable of replication.
 
   o    An engineering demonstration project can be initiated
        immediately, to begin with simple replication of robot
        assembler by robot assembler [the macroscopic variety]
        from supplied parts, and proceeding in phased steps
        to full reproduction of a complete machine processing
        or factory system by another machine processing system,
        supplied, ultimately, only with raw materials.
-----------------------------------
 
Interestingly, almost all of the complexity in the self-replicating
lunar manufacturing system involved making the parts.  Assembly of the
parts, once manufactured, was simple by comparison.  Of course,
molecular manufacturing uses a small number of fairly standard parts,
which greatly simplifies things.  No need to worry about the charge on
a carbon atom being 3% too low.... 
 
The report also discusses the implications of self-replicating
systems.  One consequence:  "From the human standpoint, perhaps the
most exciting consequence of self-replicating systems is that they
provide a means for organizing potentially infinite quantities of
matter.  This mass could be so organized as to produce an ever-
widening habitat for man throughout the Solar System.  Self-replicating 
homes, O'Neill-style space colonies, or great domed cities on the 
surfaces of other worlds would allow a niche diversification of such 
grand proportions as never before experienced by the human species." 
 
Copies are available from NTIS.  Mail order:
 
NTIS
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Technical Information Service
Springfield, VA 22161
 
Telephone orders with payment via major credit cards are accepted.
Call:  703-487-4650 and request "N83-15348.  Advanced Automation
for Space Missions."  (To repeat in case of garbles: 703-487-4650,
NTIS order number: N83-15348).
 
Cost is about $44.50 + $3.00 handling.

     "There is only one cause of poverty in the modern world:  Failure to
   own an adequate supply of capital." - Louis Kelso

Article: 68224
From: [email protected] (Diaspar Virtual Reality Network)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Driving Rover Vehicles from Home - tests on July 27, 1993
Date: 29 Jul 1993 08:18:32 GMT
Organization: CERFnet Dial n' CERF Customer
 
Driving Rover Vehicles from Home - Tests Conducted on July 27, 1993
 
Today marked an important milestone in the steady progress towards new ways
to operate vehicles remotely, a process called Tele-Operations. The first in
a series of upcoming tests was successfully performed.
 
McDonnell Douglas, NASA Ames Research Center, Comcast Corporation and the
Diaspar Virtual Reality Network conducted a series of tests which culminated
in the operation of the NASA Ames Rover vehicle remotely using a personal
computer.
 
During the tests, various communications linkups were implemented. The end
result was operation of the vehicle using a home personal computer while
observing the actual live television images transmitted from the vehicle as
if one were actually driving it.
 
The complete test configuration involved Tele-Operations software running
on a personal computer which was connected via modem to the Diaspar Virtual
Reality Network. Control information was then passed via modem link to a UNIX
platform (in this case a Silicon Graphics machine) that functioned as a
gateway to a local Ethernet that connected to the rover operating system.
Television cameras watching the vehicle, as well as television cameras
mounted on the vehicle, provided live video which was sent using the NASA
Select channel via satellite to Comcast Corporation. Comcast Corporation
received the video images and displayed them to users taking turns on a
personal computer, completing the loop. The net result was that users could
operate the rover vehicle while watching its activities via live video or
actually see a driver's point-of-view. The vehicle was also operated from
home to test the driver selection capability and experiment with vehicle
override procedures.
 
Further tests are planned including broadcast of the live images on unused
local cable channels - allowing for educational, home and commercial test
operation of the rover vehicle by anyone with a home computer involved with
the test. The tests performed today indicated this concept will work so sites
are being selected for the next series of tests. Anyone with access to NASA
Select video via satelite, a home personal computer and modem can be a pot-
entail user with this kind of system layout.
 
McDonnell Douglas Corporation has been investigating the potential of such
remote operations for a variety of possible robotic planetary exploration
missions. These include both lunar and martian rovers. MDC is working
closely with several Russian space organizations that are currently preparing
a "Marsokhod" rover for their upcoming Mars '96 project, as well as NASA Ames
and several other government labs.
 
NASA Ames Research Center provided both the prototype rover testbed, as well
as control software based on virtual reality concepts, a field in which Ames
has been a major pioneer. These same capabilities have been used to operate
the prototype Russian Marsokhod both at a testbed in Ames and also while the
rover was located in Moscow. A future application will involve a submersible
remotely operated vehicle that will explore the ocean beneath the Antarctica
ice shelf later this fall.
 
The expanding telecommunications field was represented by Comcast Corp., one
of the largest cable television system operators in the world. Comcast is
actively investigating new programming opportunities that will be created as
cable distribution grows to 500 or more interactive channels per system.
Besides providing access to the cable distribution, the company is also able
to supply insights on how to package and present the information generated by
the rover in a fashion that is best suited for a broad consumer audience.
 
The Diaspar Virtual Reality Network is conducting experiments aimed at low
cost home Tele-Operations for EduTainment purposes. Diaspar is sponsoring
the Lunar Tele-Operations Model 1 (LTM1) project which is building a mini-
ature lunar colony with Tele-Operated vehicles that can be operated by home
computers, including receiving slow scan video images directly on the user's
computer monitor screen. This educational project is open to individuals,
students and teachers worldwide.
 

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Peter Yee" 31-OCT-1993 03:23:16.77
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	Dante robot to explore active Alaska volcano in spring 
        [Release  93-195] (Forwarded)

Charles Redmond
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                      October 26, 1993
(Phone:  202/358-1757)

Susan Russell-Robinson
U.S. Geological Survey Headquarters, Reston, Va.
(Phone:  703/648-4460)

Anne Watzman
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
(Phone:  412/268-3830)

RELEASE:  93-195

DANTE ROBOT TO EXPLORE ACTIVE ALASKA VOLCANO IN SPRING

     NASA, the Alaskan Volcano Observatory (AVO) and Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, have agreed to a second robotic volcano 
exploration involving Dante, an eight-legged robot that attempted to 
explore Mt. Erebus in Antarctica earlier this year.

     NASA will fund modifications by researchers at Carnegie 
Mellon's Robotics Institute that will enable Dante to descend into 
Mt. Spurr, an active volcano about 90 miles west of Anchorage.  NASA 
will test several telerobotic technologies developed as part of the 
agency's ongoing robotic research program.

     Through an agreement, AVO, NASA and Carnegie Mellon will mount 
a joint investigation of the volcano using geophysical and 
geochemical sensors located on the Dante robot.

     The objectives of the Alaska mission are to have Dante descend 
into the crater of Mt. Spurr for geophysical and geological sampling 
and to test and prove the modifications to the robot for its 
possible use in a second attempt to explore Mt. Erebus.

     Both NASA and AVO are interested in proving the concept of 
remote, robotic, volcano explorations since many of the volcanoes of 
interest are extremely hazardous to human exploration.  Eight 
volcanologists have died in recent accidents while attempting to 
descend into volcanoes located as far apart as Japan and Ecuador.

     The crater inside Mt. Spurr is considered too dangerous for 
human exploration but is of interest to the AVO science team and to 
the Volcano Hazards Program of the USGS.

     Mt. Spurr was a dormant volcano for 39 years until 1992.  
During 1992, Mt. Spurr erupted three times from a crater off the 
south flank of the mountain's main cone.  The crater is located at 
7,575 feet elevation and includes a sheer drop of nearly 1,000 feet 
from one wall.  The other side of the crater consists of a rock-
strewn slope descending down at angles from 20 to 45 degrees.

     This exploration will test the Dante robot's ability to 
traverse escarpments and deploy scientific equipment and gather 
gaseous samples.  The robotic technologies being tested also will 
provide validation to NASA robotic mission planners of systems which 
could be used in remote planetary exploration.

     Last January, a similar team involving NASA, Carnegie Mellon 
and the National Science Foundation, attempted to explore Mt. 
Erebus, an active volcano located near McMurdo Station in the 
Antarctic.  That attempt ended when a fiber optic cable became 
kinked and communication between the robot and the base camp control 
station was severed shortly after the robot was deployed to descend 
into the volcano's crater.

     AVO is jointly operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, the 
University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute and the Alaska State 
Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.

From:	US4RMC::"[email protected]" "Peter Yee" 21-JUN-1994 04:34:51.74
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	Human Assistant robot on display at NASA HQ [NTE 94-44] (Forwarded)

Charles Redmond
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.  June 17, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1757)

NOTE TO EDITORS:  94-44

HUMAN ASSISTANT ROBOT ON DISPLAY AT NASA HQ

        A robot nicknamed "Charlotte" designed to assist 
astronauts in orbiting laboratories, will be demonstrated in 
the West Lobby of the NASA Headquarters Bldg., 300 E St., SW, 
Washington, DC, the week of July 20.  The robot was designed, 
engineered, and built by McDonnell Douglas Aerospace as part 
of the company's on-going human spaceflight engineering and 
integration activities.

        Charlotte*, named after the spider in "Charlotte's 
Web," is a breadbox-sized assistant designed to help 
astronauts in orbiting laboratories such as the Spacehab.  
McDonnell Douglas used internal company funds to develop the 
Charlotte* robot.

        The reference to Charlotte's Web stems from the robot's 
design, which uses a series of wires set in place in front of 
equipment racks, along which the robot moves.  Charlotte* has 
a "hand" which can be programmed to perform switch 
manipulations, turn open valves, and execute other required 
but often tedious tasks which might otherwise take valuable 
crew time to perform.  

        The assistant is also designed to place minimal 
additional demands on space vehicle power.  The required set-
up time also has been minimized.  Standard laboratory 
programming languages have been used to enable a multitude of 
research disciplines to use the robot.  Charlotte* can 
perform programs which are loaded by astronauts or from 
experiments on the ground.  This versatility will provide 
additional opportunities for on-orbit experiment activities, 
including those which might occur during extended periods.

        The Charlotte* robot will be in the NASA lobby Monday 
through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm for media wishing to either 
observe pre-programmed activities or engage in operating the 
robot themselves.  Literature on the development activities 
and potential uses for the Charlotte* robot both in space and 
here on Earth will also be available.

        Pat Swaim and Clark Thompson, both McDonnell Douglas 
Aerospace, Houston, will be the technical experts on hand to 
provide demonstrations.  Other McDonnell Douglas elements, 
including those located in Huntsville, Ala., at the Spacehab 
Payload Processing Facility, Port Canaveral, Fla., and 
Huntington Beach, Calif., were also involved in the 
Charlotte* robot development activities.

Article: 3952
From: [email protected] (James Gass)
Newsgroups: alt.sci.planetary
Subject: Dante II mission on WWW
Date: 1 Aug 1994 11:47 EDT
Organization: NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center
 
[Although this particular experiment is Earth-bound, it bears on
developments for future telerobotic planetary exploration and is an
example of how such activities can be followed on the Internet.] 
 
Current Event:
 
Up-to-date images, movies, and status reports on the Dante II robot's
exploration of the Mt. Spurr volcano are available on the WWW at:
 
http://maas-neotek.arc.nasa.gov/dante/
 
As of Sunday, July 31, the tethered walking robot was making its
descent into the crater of the volcano in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. 
This experiment in robotic explorers is being carried out by the
Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and the NASA Ames
Research Center's Intelligent Mechanisms Group. 
 
The collection of images and movies are updated every few hours and
include the imagery returned from the robot's cameras.  A fascinating
example of how the World Wide Web can be used to follow events as they
happen. 
 
Jim Gass
Hughes STX /
Space Science Data Operation Office
NASA GSFC
 

Date: Tue, 16 Aug 94 7:58:42 PDT
From: "Peter G. Neumann" <[email protected]>
Subject: Pin the tail on the Dante?

On 9 Aug 1994, an attempt was made to rescue Dante II (see
RISKS-16.31) from the Mt. Spurr crater.  A helicopter tried to lift
Dante II by its half-inch Kevlar-reinforced tether, but the tether
snapped from the force of the attempted liftoff.  The tether had
survived earlier tests that demonstrated it had sufficient strength to
lift the 1,700-pound robot; however, the tether may have been wrapped
around one of the VW-sized boulders as a result of Dante's earlier
movements.  (Tim Hegadorn, a CMU grad student, was injured in the
process.) 

And, finally, on 12 Aug 1994, David Bares (civil engineer, and leader
of the CMU robot development effort) and an Army ``pathfinder''
climbed into the Mt. Spurr volcano.  David removed the computer and
electronics module, which were then helicoptered out of the crater. 
They then hooked up a sling so that the robot itself could be hauled
out.  Six of the robot's legs had been ``badly dented'' --- but
otherwise the robot appears ready for another mission. [From what may
be the final article in this series, by Charles Petit in the *San
Francisco Chronicle* on 16 Aug 1994, p. 2.]