NASA STTR 2015 Solicitation

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Debra Schreckenghost
schreck@traclabs.com
16969 N. Texas Ave, Suite 300
Webster, TX 77598 - 4085
(281) 461-7886 Extension :706

CORPORATE/BUSINESS OFFICIAL (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
David Kortenkamp
korten@traclabs.com
16969 N. Texas Ave, Suite 300
Webster, TX 77598 - 4085
(281) 461-7886 Extension :704

Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at beginning and end of contract:
Begin: 2
End: 3

Technology Available (TAV) Subtopics
Information Technologies for Intelligent and Adaptive Space Robotics is a Technology Available (TAV) subtopic that includes NASA Intellectual Property (IP). Do you plan to use the NASA IP under the award?
No

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
NASA's future human exploration missions will include remotely operated rovers performing surface exploration and science, as well as free-flyers to reduce the need for human Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). As astronauts move deeper into space, it will be necessary for them to manage these robotic assets with less support from ground controllers. A flexible approach is needed to build and revise plans for semi-autonomous robots. A key requirement for such planning operations is the ability to accurately predict how much resource (e.g., time, power) is needed to perform planned tasks. TRACLabs and CMU propose to develop software to model resources for use in building and revising plans for semi-autonomous robots. The resource models will be used to estimate the duration of planned tasks based on historical plan performance. They will be updated periodically during a mission to improve model accuracy at a site. This software also will be used to provide actual resource data for annotating a map of the site when building. The resource modeling software will be designed for evaluation with the IRG Exploration Ground Data System planning software. Improved resource modeling produces more accurate predictions of the resources needed for planned tasks. More accurate resource estimates improves the likelihood that plans can be executed "as planned". When plans don't go as expected, these resource models can be used to determine how to modify robot plans within available resources. This should reduce the human workload needed to revise robot plans during plan execution and, when revisions are needed, to determine which subset of activities can actually be completed with remaining resources. Such resource modeling technology is enabling for remote operation and supervision of planetary robots with variable levels of autonomy (NASA Roadmap TA4).

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The proposed project will develop resource models for use when building robot plans that enable variable levels of robot autonomy (NASA Roadmap TA4). The technology for resource modeling has direct application in NASA missions such as the Resource Prospector Mission (RPM). An ongoing operational trade during plan execution for the RPM is whether to take a closer look for water in an area or to move on to prospect another area. The proposed resource models have potential to help the science team make better decisions about prospecting by providing more accurate estimates of how long it will take to perform the tasks within a robot plan. Other tests where resource modeling might improve robot and science mission planning include BASALT, AstroBee, and the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP).

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Unmanned Vehicles, including UAVs, UGVs, and USVs are growing in their importance to DOD. Correspondingly, the need to ensure that soldiers can work effectively with these vehicles is also growing. As the number of vehicles grows the need to plan for the coordination of multiple robots will also grow. The proposed resource modeling software can be integrated with existing planning and procedure technology to deliver flexible multi-robot plans. There is renewed interest in remote operations and robot inspection and maintenance for the oil and natural gas drilling, extraction, and processing. Whether controlling robots that monitor and maintain off-shore rigs during an evacuation, or controlling Remotely Operated Vehicles underwater, or controlling robots that perform disaster response tasks in large refinery, the need for robotics in the oil and gas industry is growing. The proposed software for resource modeling is enabling to build plans for such robot operations.