International Space Station Robotic Systems Operations - a Human Factors Perspective

Abstract

Assembly and maintenance of the International Space Station (ISS) relies heavily on the use of extravehicular robotic systems. When fully assembled the ISS robotics complement will include three main manipulators, two small dexterous arms, and a mobile base and transporter system. The complexity and mobility of the systems and limited opportunities for direct viewing of the Space Station's exterior makes telerobotic operations an especially challenging task. Although fundamental manipulator design, control systems, and strategies for autonomous versus manual control vary greatly between the systems, commonality in the design of workstation controls and displays is considered essential to enhance operator performance and reduce the possibility of errors. Principal human factors opportunities are associated with workstation layout, human-computer interface considerations, adequacy of alignment cues for maintenance of safe approach corridors during mating tasks, spatial awareness challenges, integration of supplemental computer graphic displays to enhance operator global situational awareness, and training methodologies for preservation of critical skills during long-duration missions.

The Design and Evaluation of Visual and Tactile Warnings in Support of Space Teleoperation

“…Space teleoperation is an especially challenging task due to the complexity and mobility of the system and limited opportunities for direct viewing of the operating environment (Currie & Peacock, 2002). Maintaining awareness of the robotic arm's configuration continues to be a major challenge for astronauts.…”

A modular architecture for an interactive real-time simulation and training environment for satellite on-orbit servicing

“…Robotic servicing constitutes an attractive alternative. The Canada arm has demonstrated successful operation [5]. Ongoing projects and concepts for robotic OOS studies include the Deutsche Orbitale Servicing Mission (DEOS) [23] with the goal to demonstrate the capturing of an uncooperative spacecraft; and the Orbital Life Extension Vehicle (OLEV) [24], a commercial project with the aim to dock on communication satellites and take over the attitude and orbit control system (AOCS) extending the satellite's lifetime.…”

Randomized path planning with preferences in highly complex dynamic environments

“…The SSRMS is a 17-meter long articulated robot manipulator, having a translation joint, seven rotational joints (each with a range of 270 • ) and two latching end-effectors, which can be moved to various fixtures, giving it the capability to "walk" from one grappling fixture to next on the exterior of the ISS. 6 Astronauts operate SSRMS using the robot control station located inside one of the ISS compartments ( Fig. 1).…”