Questions tagged [robotics]

The tag has no usage guidance.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
14 votes
2 answers
798 views

Why use fingers in EVA suits?

I was watching a documentary recently on the development of space suits, both of IVA and EVA. The program made it clear that the most difficult thing was the development of the gloves. The ...
Coomie's user avatar
  • 2,907
11 votes
1 answer
1k views

How does JAXA's "Int-Ball" manage airflow to optimally navigate inside the ISS?

above: From the BBC's Japan's zero-gravity space drone sends first pictures from ISS. This is JAXA's GEM internal ball camera, or "Int-Ball". Kawaii! It looks like it uses a three axis attitude ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
10 votes
10 answers
3k views

Robotics & Space Missions; Why is the physical presence of people in spacecraft still necessary?

Robotics is now well developed. Many programming languages allow you to work in real-time. Also, a new era of space missions and research is in full swing. So here's the question: Why is the physical ...
TommyJo's user avatar
  • 325
10 votes
2 answers
556 views

Who is the space artist? Patterns on the Spheres robots on the ISS

The August 24, 2016 NASA news item: New NASA Record Holder For Cumulative Days in Space congratulates ISS station commander Jeff Williams for passing 520 total days in space - a new NASA astronaut ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
10 votes
2 answers
1k views

How does a command sent to a rocket or rover look like?

I think the question is quite clear. Let's say when Mission Control decides to let Perseverence move forward for 3 seconds with a speed of 10 (whatever..) What syntax would this command have? Im ...
Tristan K.'s user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is the user interface of SSRMS

How does the control panel for Space Station Remote Manipulator System (the robotic arm) look like, and where is it located? Is it some joysticks, or just a screen+keyboard? What kind of feedback (...
SF.'s user avatar
  • 55k
10 votes
1 answer
182 views

What are these two SPHERES doing?

In her tweet ISS expedition 59/60/61 astronaut Christina Koch shows two SPHERES doing something. What are they doing exactly? Why do they appear to be connected? Had a blast cheering on the ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
9 votes
1 answer
264 views

Are all DC motors on the inside of the ISS brushless?

Considering the number of motors on the ISS used in pumps, fans, actuators and robots, are there rules against brushed motors, motors with electrical brushes which can make particulate matter? Based ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
9 votes
1 answer
345 views

What is/was the point of Robonaut 2? Has it accomplished anything?

I remember being really interested in the Robonaut project when it was first announced, and thinking how cool it was when it was finally launched to the ISS. Since then, I've heard little about the ...
Cal Jacobson's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
462 views

How many different walk-off maneuvers can the ISS robotic arm do?

I didn't realize that either end of the robotic arm could act as both a "shoulder" and a "wrist", and that it could plug it's "wrist" into a second power-data-grapple fixture and then unplug it's "...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
8 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is there any type of mechanical bearing that can be used in the full vacuum of space?

Plenty of spacecraft seem to have moving parts. Space shuttle doors open, robot arms manipulate things, etc. This is perplexing, when we consider that lubricating oil probably won't remain liquid, ...
AlanSE's user avatar
  • 16.3k
7 votes
1 answer
302 views

Did moving a Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS) from one Orbiter to another have any impact on operations?

This question Did each Shuttle have its own dedicated Canadarm? and its answer discuss the five different robot arms used in the shuttle program and how they were moved from Orbiter to Orbiter. ...
Organic Marble's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
79 views

Has any research been done in deep-cold robotics?

I'm reading all kinds of things about mining water from the Permanently Shadowed Regions of the moon -- the bottoms of craters near the poles -- and I'm thinking Um, guys? It's 30 degrees Kelvin down ...
michael_goulish's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
294 views

Suppose Hubble needed to be fixed by replacing an accessible module again and NASA called for help, what are the most likely mission proposals?

Background Hubble has had at least a few troubling issues that were resolved from the ground in recent years, a summary can be found in Engadget's NASA struggles to fix a Hubble Space Telescope ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
6 votes
1 answer
721 views

What are joint systems used for mounting manipulators to spacecrafts?

What are the joint systems used for mounting mobile manipulators to spacecraft? Looking answers for questions like: How SSRMS (Canadarm2) is mounted to space station? What joint system does it use ...
Konstantin Petrukhnov's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
478 views

ROS is running on the Robonaut, but is the Robonaut running on the ISS (post 2015)?

I was reading about the Robot Operating System ROS, and in particular the 2014 ROS.org article ROS running on ISS and wondering if the Robonaut is being actively tested on the ISS. Do they take it out,...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
6 votes
0 answers
116 views

Challenges to constructing a "building" in Earth orbit (something like a hotel) 100% robotically?

Today my younger brother and I, while discussing the idea of building any commercial building (something like a hotel) in the Earth orbit, got into some debate with the assembling of the building in ...
Perfect Lord's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
868 views

Why a humanoid robot and not a dedicated drone style one?

Why does ISS have two humanoid robots (rather impractical for microgravity) instead of something not human shaped? A robot with "RCS" composed of a set of propellers could efficiently navigate the ...
SF.'s user avatar
  • 55k
5 votes
1 answer
180 views

Bishop airlock: explanation of the name?

Nanoracks' new Bishop Airlock will soon be installed on Node 3 and will provide some cool operational capabilities. But, I don't get the name. This Verge article says ...
Organic Marble's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
197 views

Why wasn't the wind and thermal shield of Insight's deployable seismometer integrated into the instrument before deployment?

This fascinating question and answer covers how Insight's seismometer was deployed by its robot arm, and how a subsequent robot arm maneuver covered it with a wind and thermal shield. What parts of ...
Organic Marble's user avatar
5 votes
0 answers
136 views

Which robotic spacecraft have autonomous operation capabilities?

I am searching for an overview of autonomous space robots integrating motion planning capabilities, such as a list of robots (past and present). So far, I have found these robots: Mars exploration ...
user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
330 views

How exactly do the AstroBees implement propulsion and attitude control?

The (currently unanswered) question How does JAXA's “Int-Ball” manage airflow to optimally navigate inside the ISS? shows a complicated set of twelve ducted airflows for that JAXA aerobotic system ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
4 votes
0 answers
128 views

What technologies are being developed to ease the supply chain burden for space travel? [closed]

Gathering and delivering resources from Earth is ultimately too expensive and unsustainable for space exploration in the long term. Emphasis has been made on extracting resources while in space, ...
Krazer's user avatar
  • 561
3 votes
3 answers
485 views

Why does NASA now call its rovers "robotic scientists?"

NASA's 2020 July 13 press release about the Mars 2020 mission calls its rover Perseverance a "robotic scientist." Is this press release, or at least this mission, the first usage of this ...
Camille Goudeseune's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
329 views

What are robot arm singularities in the context of the Space Shuttle and/or ISS?

This comment on this answer has got me baffled. What are robot arm singularities, in the context of the Space Shuttle's or ISS's large robotic Canadian arms? Are these singularities related to ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
3 votes
2 answers
602 views

Could nanobots travel through space?

I couldn't find a better place to ask this, but I figured this exchange would know about the problems associated with traveling through space. My question is if nanobots could spread through the ...
Wolfie_Waffle's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
384 views

How many ISS robotic manipulators are shown in this image, and what are their names?

The Phys.org article NASA's new space 'botanist' arrives at launch site states: NASA's ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) left NASA's Jet Propulsion ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
3 votes
1 answer
97 views

Mars at its closest is only a few light minutes away -- are different experiments performed when this happens?

While 3 minutes is not exactly real time, it still seems like remotely-controlled experiments of a different nature can be performed that could not be when Mars is farther. Is this correct, that the ...
releseabe's user avatar
  • 337
2 votes
2 answers
494 views

What have been the most common causes of mishaps or failures with various cubesat mechanisms & components?

I am keen to know more about common CubeSat mechanisms & components (antenna / solar array deployments / thruster / momentum wheel / robotic arm problems) that have worked well in the past and ...
rsf's user avatar
  • 111
2 votes
1 answer
156 views

Will Astrobee be the second time that an autonomous, mobile robot will use ROS in space?

The question ROS is running on the Robonaut, but is the Robonaut running on the ISS (post 2015)? asks about Robot Operating System or ROS. In the Art Technica video Talking Space and Robots with NASA'...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
2 votes
1 answer
326 views

How many robots have been at, in, or on the ISS?

Part of the problem is that the definition of robot can be a bit of a slippery slope. Can a spacecraft which has autonomous docking capability be considered a potential robot for example? If you are ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
2 votes
1 answer
127 views

What problems exploration robot needs to overcome?

Morphex is a hexapod robot which can walk, transform into a ball, roll in a controlled manner... To see it on another world like Mars several issues need to be solved. First it needs a power source, ...
mark.g's user avatar
  • 881
1 vote
1 answer
539 views

What are the operational details of the Canadarm Latching End Effectors?

There are numerous pictures of grapple fixtures and LEE available. I can appreciate how the wire snare works to snare the center pin of the grapple. But I’m foggy on how the location cam/arm ...
Woody's user avatar
  • 21.6k
1 vote
1 answer
147 views

Trying to understand if or how operating a rover on Mars from Earth could work

If you used something like google maps to create a 360° Topographical map of an area on Mars could you use it to create a virtual simulated reality similarly to how you would manipulate google maps ...
Aaron Tout-McCarthy's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
105 views

Control Systems of space robots? [closed]

How the control systems of space robots work? Are they based on Machine learning or conventional control systems techniques? Especially mars Rovers like sojourner
DSP_CS's user avatar
  • 237
1 vote
0 answers
97 views

Aspiring to Build a Space Rover from Scratch – Where to Begin? [closed]

What fundamental concepts, beginner-friendly resources, or online courses would you recommend for someone starting with little to no background in robotics? At first, I want to build a an autonomous ...
Md Ghufran Fazal's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
163 views

Why did NASA need to attach smartphones to the SPHERES robots in order to link them to the ground?

This May 2016 NASA Johnson video Space Station Live: Getting the Buzz on Astrobee is described as: NASA Commentator Lori Meggs at the Marshall Space Flight Center talks to NASA Ames Research Center’...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
0 votes
1 answer
173 views

What is the difference between "body drag", "frictional drag" and "pressure drag" for astronaut or aerobot atmospheric locomotion in microgravity?

Complaints below my answer to Would a higher air pressure on the ISS or elsewhere make it easier to “swim” in microgravity? about my spherical-cow estimate of how fast an astronaut can accelerate by &...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
-1 votes
1 answer
166 views

How can articulated spacecraft components increase the risk of gimbal lock?

This answer has got me baffled. In theory, yes. In practice, no. The problem is gimbal lock... There seems to be some risk of inducing gimbal lock if a spacecraft component of sufficient mass is ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 149k
-2 votes
1 answer
68 views

What kind of uses could you get out of a humanoid mech/robot on the moon? [closed]

Edit: A humanoid mech like the ones in Avatar or a mecha from the Patlabor anime. Something that's roughly around the size of both.
billy's user avatar
  • 175