Project Title:
12.06-8100
NAS9-18305
Automation of Stowage
Aptek, Inc.
1257 Lake Plaza Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80906-3578
Jerry L. Udy
(719-576-8100)
Abstract:
This project will determine optimal packing solutions for location and orientation
of items to be stowed in the space station using three-dimensional computer graphics
coupled with engineering design optimization methodologies. Constraints such as minimum
distance between objects, mass properties, fixed object orientation, object layering,
and stowage container designation will be addressed. The project will examine the
feasibility of interfacing the optimal packing capability with NASA/Air Force laser
mapping system to provide an efficient method of modeling extremely complex objects
to be stowed and with numerically controlled machining equipment to allow automatic
machining of packing material. This evolutionary innovation will improve and link
together existing capabilities to provide NASA with an imaginative, low-risk, automated
solution to the difficult space station stowage problem.
Potential Commercial Application:
Potential Commercial Applications: The automobile, aerospace, electronics, and shipping
industries could benefit from technology to optimally place 3-D objects into containers
(or space).