Robotic recon for human exploration: Method, assessment, and lessons learned

Abstract

Robotic rovers can be used as advance scouts to signifi cantly improve scientifi c and technical return of planetary surface exploration. Robotic scouting, or "robotic recon," involves using a robot to collect ground-level data prior to human fi eld activity. The data collected and knowledge acquired through recon can be used to refi ne traverse planning, reduce operational risk, and increase crew productivity. To understand how robotic recon can benefi t human exploration, we conducted a series of simulated planetary robotic missions at analog sites. These mission simulations were designed to: (1) identify and quantify operational requirements for robotic recon in advance of human activity; (2) identify and quantify ground control and science team requirements for robotic recon; and (3) identify capability, procedure, and training requirements for human explorers to draw maximum benefi t from robotic recon during vehicular traverses and on-foot extravehicular activities (EVA). Our studies indicate that robotic recon can be benefi cial to crew, improving preparation, situational awareness, and productivity in the fi eld. This is particularly true when traverse plans contain signifi cant unknowns that can be resolved by recon, such as target access and station/activity priority. In this paper, we fi rst present the assumptions and major questions related to robotic reconnaissance. We detail our system design, including the confi guration of our recon robot, the ground data system used for operation, ground control organization, and operational time lines. Finally, we describe the design and results from an experiment to assess robotic recon, discuss lessons learned, and identify directions for future work.

Shared Mental Models to Support Distributed Human-Robot Teaming in Space

“…The core benefit of the framework appears to be the synchronizing of this SMM information to allow all robots on a team to utilize this knowledge and to coordinate their actions in a team-oriented manner. More work is clearly needed, but this work represents a step in the direction to bridge the gap between human-robot teaming separated in time [35,36] and the kind of real-time interdependence envisioned for future space robotics applications.…”

Space Telerobotics

“…This approach was designed to minimize the amount of time the robot was idle. One observation from the experiment was that this control structure was not always practical since the science operations team had to concurrently monitor robot execution, analyze data that had previously been acquired with the robot, and plan future (Bualat et al, 2011). (Bualat et al, 2011).…”

“…The ground control structure (Deans et al, 2012) employed for the 2010 simulation was partitioned into three subteams, similar to the one used by Bualat et al (2011). Each team was organized hierarchically and handled three different types of operations: (a) interactive, tactical decision making and robot control; (b) science data analysis and strategic robot activity planning; and (c) robot performance monitoring and engineering support.…”

“…Robotic scouting, prior to human activity, has the potential to significantly increase scientific and technical return from planetary exploration missions (Hodges & Schmitt, 2010). We define robotic scouting (or “robotic recon”) as operating a planetary rover with ground or IVA astronaut control to scout planned sorties prior to human extravehicular activity (Bualat et al, 2011). Scouting can be: (1) traverse-based (observations along a route); (2) site-based (observations within an area); (3) survey-based (systematic collection of data on transects); or (4) pure reconnaissance.…”

“…Field studies (Bualat et al, 2011; Deans et al, 2009; Fong, Abercromby, et al, 2010) conducted in planetary analog sites have demonstrated that robotic scouting improves human missions in three ways: (a) increases scientific understanding so that better (i.e., more efficient and productive) traverse plans can be produced; (b) reduces operational risk by evaluating routes, terrain hazards, and site accessibility; and (c) improves crew productivity by facilitating situation awareness and understanding of site context.…”