Abstract
The Robotics Technology Branch at the NASA Johnson Space Center is developing robotic systems to assist astronauts in space. One such system, Robonaut, is a humanoid robot with the dexterity approaching that of a suited astronaut. Robonaut currently has two dexterous arms and hands, a three degree-of-freedom articulating waist, and a two degree-of-freedom neck used as a camera and sensor platform. In contrast to other space manipulator systems, Robonaut is designed to work within existing corridors and use the same tools as space walking astronauts. Robonaut is envisioned as working with astronauts, both autonomously and by teleoperation, performing a variety of tasks including, routine maintenance, setting up and breaking down worksites, assisting crew members while outside of spacecraft, and serving in a rapid response capacity.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albus, J. 1971. A theory of cerebellar function. Mathematical Biosciences, 10 pp. 25–61.
Aldridge, H., Bluethmann, W., Ambrose, R., and Diftler, M. 2000. Control architecture for the robonaut space. In Humanoid, Proceedings, Humanoids 2000, The 1st IEEE-RAS Conference on Humanoid Robots, Cambridge, MA.
Ambrose, R.O. and Berka, R.B. 1993. Thermal management in hyper-redundant space manipulators. In SPIE Cooperative Intelligent Robotics in Space IV.
Ambrose, R.O. and Tesar, D. 1994. The optimal selection of robot modules for space manipulators. In Space'94, Albuquerque NM.
Ambrose, R.O. 1995. Interactive robot joint design, analysis and prototyping. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Nagoya, Japan.
Ambrose, R.O. and Diftler, M.A. 1996. Definitions of strength in serial and bifurcated manipulators. In ISA Conference, Chicago Il.
Ambrose, R.O. and Diftler, M.A. 1998. The minimum form of strength in serial, parallel and bifurcated manipulators. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Leuven, Belgium.
Ambrose, R.O. and Bluethmann, W. 2000. Articulated upper bodies for dexterous manipulation. In NASA/DoD Second Workshop On Bio Inspired Engineering of Exploration Systems 2000, JPL.
Ambrose, R., Culbert, C., and Rehnmark, F. 2001. An experimental investigation of dexterous robots using EVA tools and Interfaces, AIAA Space 2001, Albuquerque, NM.
Bluethmann, W., Rehnmark, F., Nguyen, T., and Aldridge, H. 2001. Cooperative manipulation testbed: A facility for space robot control system development. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space, Montreal.
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Hardware generic design requirements document, JSC 26626. NASA/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. 1994.
Fredrickson, S.E., Lockhart, P.S., and Wagenknecht, J.D. 1999. Autonomous extravehicular robotic camera (AERCam) for remote viewing. In AIAA International Space Station Service Vehicles Conference, Houston, TX.
Hirzinger, G., Brunner, B., Dietrich, J., and Heindl, J. 1994. ROTEX—The first remotely control robot in space. In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, San Diego, CA, pp. 2604–2611.
Jacobsen, S. et al. 1986. Design of the Utah/M.I.T. dextrous hand. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, San Francisco, CA, pp. 1520–1532.
Jau, B. 1995. Dexterous tele-manipulation with four fingered hand system. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Nagoya, Japan, pp. 338–343.
Li, L., Cox, B., Diftler, M., Shelton, S., and Rogers, B. 1996. Development of a telepresense controlled ambidexterous robot for space applications. In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Minneapolis, MN.
Lovchik, C.S. and Diftler, M.A. Compact Dexterous Robotic Hand. Patent Pending.
Oda, M. 2001. ETS-VII: Achievements, troubles, and future. In Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics & Automation in Space: I-SAIRAS 2001. Montreal, Canada.
Peters, R.A., Hambuchen, K.E., Kawamura, K., and Wilkes, D.M. 2001. The sensory ego-sphere as a short-term memory for humanoids. In Proceedings of the IEEE-RAS International. Conference on Humanoid Robots, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 451–459.
Rochlis, J. 2002. Human factors and telerobotics: Tools and approaches for designing remote robotic workstation displays. Ph.D. Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Salisbury, J.K. and Mason, M.T. 1985. Robot Hands and the Mechanics of Manipulation. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bluethmann, W., Ambrose, R., Diftler, M. et al. Robonaut: A Robot Designed to Work with Humans in Space. Autonomous Robots 14, 179–197 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022231703061
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022231703061