All space missions involve the control of mission operations from a ground station mediated throu... more All space missions involve the control of mission operations from a ground station mediated through a communications channel. Rover missions are no exception. For planetary missions, important constraints are imposed by the nature of the terrain, limited amount of energy available, limited computational resources, limited communication with human operators, and the nature of scientific targets and their location. Fully autonomous control through autonomous task planning is not yet conceivable nor, indeed, is it desirable—there will always be a need for human supervision.
A technique based on the employment of a suite of onboard manipulators has been used to automatic... more A technique based on the employment of a suite of onboard manipulators has been used to automatically adjust the configuration of free-flying telescopes, in order to maintain the constellation as a virtual optical bench. The goal was to simulate a sufficiently stable and accurate platforms for interferometric imaging. A mapping algorithm has been developed demonstrating the relationship between the robotic manipulators' configuration such that joint-level trajectories are deduced to move or re-position the robotic arm, resulting in a successful approach to accurately control the relative spacing between the interferometric platforms. Each interferometric platform represents a spacecraft bus mount to which one or more manipulators are mounted. No fuel is expended except for the initial configuration maneuvers. The imaging resolution of Proxima Centauri b was assessed and the types of features that could be detected.
The next decade presents a unique moment in the history of planetary astronomy. For the first tim... more The next decade presents a unique moment in the history of planetary astronomy. For the first time, we have the technologies at hand to discover and characterize a wide range of exoplanetary systems, possibly harboring true Earth analogues. The opportunity is no less than answering humanity's millennia old questions of "Are we alone?" and "How did we get here?". The best part: Canada can play a leading role in this historic endeavor, if we make deliberate strategic investments over the next decade. In this white paper, we lay out pathways to develop the necessary instrumentation in collaboration with national and international partners to address the most fundamental questions regarding the formation of planets, the diversity of planetary systems, and the frequency of life in the universe. We recommend critical investments in a portfolio of assets including high-dispersion coronagraphy instrumentation for the upcoming ground based 30-meter class telescopes, a...
The detection of atmospheric methane on Mars implies an active methane source. This introduces th... more The detection of atmospheric methane on Mars implies an active methane source. This introduces the possibility of a biotic source with the implied need to determine whether the methane is indeed biotic in nature or geologically generated. There is a clear need for robotic algorithms which are capable of manoeuvring a rover through a methane plume on Mars to locate its source. We explore aspects of Mars methane plume modelling to reveal complex dynamics characterized by advection and diffusion. A statistical analysis of the plume model has been performed and compared to analyses of terrestrial plume models. Finally, we consider a robotic search strategy to find a methane plume source. We find that gradient-based techniques are ineffective, but that more sophisticated model-based search strategies are unlikely to be available in near-term rover missions.
With the recent proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles for geophysical surveying, a novel oppo... more With the recent proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles for geophysical surveying, a novel opportunity exists to develop unmanned ground vehicles in parallel. This contribution features a study to integrate the Husky A200 robotic development platform with a GSMP 35U magnetometer that has recently been developed for the unmanned aerial vehicle market. Methods to identify and reduce the impact of magnetically noisy components on the unmanned ground vehicle platforms are discussed. The noise generated by the platform in laboratory and gentle field conditions, estimated using the fourth difference method for a magnetometer–vehicle separation distance of 121 cm and rotation of the chassis wheels at full speed (1 m/s), is ±1.97 nT. The integrated unmanned ground vehicle was used to conduct two robotic magnetic surveys to map cultural targets and natural variations of the magnetic field. In realistic field conditions, at a full speed of 1 m/s, the unmanned ground vehicle measured total m...
Geomagnetic data gathering by micro-rovers is gaining momentum both for future planetary explorat... more Geomagnetic data gathering by micro-rovers is gaining momentum both for future planetary exploration missions and for terrestrial applications in extreme environments. This paper presents research into the integration of a planetary micro-rover with a potassium total-field magnetometer. The 40 kg Kapvik micro-rover is an ideal platform due to an aluminium construction and a rocker-bogie mobility system, which provides good manoeuvrability and terrainability. A light-weight GSMP 35U (uninhabited aerial vehicle) magnetometer, comprised of a 0.65 kg sensor and 0.63 kg electronics module, was mounted to the chassis via a custom 1.21 m composite boom. The boom dimensions were optimized to be an effective compromise between noise mitigation and mechanical practicality. An analysis using the fourth difference method was performed estimating the magnetic noise envelope at ±0.03 nT at 10 Hz sampling frequency from the integrated systems during robotic operations. A robotic magnetic survey ca...
Abstract A robust classification system is proposed to support autonomous geological mapping of r... more Abstract A robust classification system is proposed to support autonomous geological mapping of rocky outcrops using grayscale digital images acquired by a planetary exploration rover. The classifier uses 13 Haralick textural parameters to describe the surface of rock samples, automatically catalogues this information into a 5-bin data structure, computes Bayesian probabilities, and outputs an identification. The system has been demonstrated using a library of 30 digital images of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The images are 3.5×3.5 cm 2 in size and composed of 256×256 pixels with 256 grayscale levels. They are first converted to gray level co-occurrence matrices which quantify the number of times adjacent pixels of similar intensity are present. The Haralick parameters are computed from these matrices. When all 13 parameters are used, classification accuracy, defined using an empirical scoring system, is 65% due to a large number of false positives. When the number of parameters and the choice of parameter is optimized, classification accuracy increases to 80%. The best results were achieved with 3 parameters that can be interpreted visually (angular second moment, contrast, correlation) together with two statistical parameters (sum of squares variance and difference variance) and a parameter derived from information theory (information measure of correlation II). The system has been kept simple not to draw excessive computational power from the rover. It could, however, be easily extended to handle additional parameters such as images acquired at different wavelengths.
Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technol... more Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and habitations. Here, we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating to the natural history of Mars, habitability, robotic and human exploration, planetary protection, and the impacts on human society. Key observations and findings include:–high escape rates of early Mars' atmosphere, including loss of water, impact present-day habitability;–putative fossils on Mars will likely be ambiguous biomarkers for life;–microbial contamination resulting from human habitation is unavoidable; and–based on Mars' current planetary protection category, robotic payload(s) should characterize the local martian environment for any life-forms prior to human habitation.Some of the outstanding questions are:–which interpretation of the hemispheric dichotomy of the planet is correct;–to what degree did deep-penetrating faults transport subsurface ...
2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO)
We present an outline of a self-replicating machine concept that utilises in-situ resources on th... more We present an outline of a self-replicating machine concept that utilises in-situ resources on the Moon with which to construct itself — this represents the ultimate bio-inspired system. In attempting to deal with the practical engineering issues with such a machine, there are a number of biomimetics lessons to be learned, the most important being the requirement to synthesise itself from local raw materials. The self-replicator may be envisaged as a mobile rover mounting a suite of 3D printers, drills, etc — this bears similarities to the upcoming Resource Prospector mission to the Moon to demonstrate in-situ resource utilisation. 3D printing of mechatronic components will be key to 3D printing of robotic machines. It will be partially demonstrated that electric motors and neural circuits can be 3D printed. On the assumption that almost any functional structure can be 3D printed, 3D printing motors and electronics constitutes a demonstration of universal construction capability.
In the early 1980s, the Sagan-Tipler debate raged regarding the interpretation of the Fermi parad... more In the early 1980s, the Sagan-Tipler debate raged regarding the interpretation of the Fermi paradox but no clear winner emerged. Sagan favoured the existence of ETI on the basis of the Copernican principle and Tipler favoured the non-existence of ETI on the basis of the Occam's razor principle. Tipler's stance was an expansion of the similar but earlier Hart declaration. However, crucial to the Tipler argument was the role played by self-replicating interstellar robot probes. Any technologically capable species will develop self-replication technology as the most economical means of exploring space and the Galaxy as a whole with minimal investment. There is no evidence of such probes in our solar system including the asteroid belt, ergo, ETI do not exist. This is a powerful and cogent argument. Counter-arguments have been weak including Sagan's sociological explanations. We present a Copernican argument that ETI do not exist – humans are developing self-replication techn...
The self-replicating machine has high utility by virtue of its universal construction properties ... more The self-replicating machine has high utility by virtue of its universal construction properties and its productive capacity for exponential growth. Their capacity is unrivalled. They can be deployed to the Moon to industrialize it using local in-situ resources in the short term to open up the solar system and thence deployed on interstellar spacecraft to explore the entire Galaxy by exploiting in-situ stellar system resources. Nevertheless, there are significant concerns regarding the inherent safety of self-replicating machines. We consider the general problem of runaway population growth in physical self-replicating machines to prevent the grey goo problem, the number of offspring spawned by self-replicating machines may be controlled at a genetic level. We adopt a biologically-inspired approach based on telomeres, DNA endcaps that are progressively shortened during cellular replication. This acts as a counter that imposes a limit to the number of replication cycles (Hayflick lim...
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Geoengineering approaches to climate change mitigation are unpopular and regarded with suspicion.... more Geoengineering approaches to climate change mitigation are unpopular and regarded with suspicion. Of these, space-based approaches are regarded as unworkable and enormously costly. Here, a space-based approach is presented that is modest in cost, fully controllable and reversible, and acts as a natural spur to the development of solar power satellites over the longer term as a clean source of energy. The low-cost approach exploits self-replication technology which it is proposed may be enabled by 3D printing technology. Self-replication of 3D printing platforms will enable mass production of simple spacecraft units. Key elements being developed are 3D-printable electric motors and 3D-printable vacuum tube-based electronics. The power of such technologies will open up enormous possibilities at low cost including space-based geoengineering.
This research addresses the application of 3D printing technologies in innovative electrical mach... more This research addresses the application of 3D printing technologies in innovative electrical machinery. To date, there is a lack of fabricated devices with electromechanical functionality for parts entirely manufactured using only Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. This study provides a new and different approach to create a fully 3D printed electric motors, with a focus on an additively manufactured iron core, winding, insulation, and permanent magnet. We investigate how to develop 3D printed motor with multi-material and multi-technique without using embedding devices. Several prototypes of radial and axial flux DC electric motors were fabricated and tested. Their functionality indicated the potential of achieving 3D-printed motor using inexpensive, commercially available equipment. A good plan application is to use the 3D printed motor as the core component of a self-replicating machine. Suppose such a machine was deployed on the Moon. It could be a robotic system that use...
All space missions involve the control of mission operations from a ground station mediated throu... more All space missions involve the control of mission operations from a ground station mediated through a communications channel. Rover missions are no exception. For planetary missions, important constraints are imposed by the nature of the terrain, limited amount of energy available, limited computational resources, limited communication with human operators, and the nature of scientific targets and their location. Fully autonomous control through autonomous task planning is not yet conceivable nor, indeed, is it desirable—there will always be a need for human supervision.
A technique based on the employment of a suite of onboard manipulators has been used to automatic... more A technique based on the employment of a suite of onboard manipulators has been used to automatically adjust the configuration of free-flying telescopes, in order to maintain the constellation as a virtual optical bench. The goal was to simulate a sufficiently stable and accurate platforms for interferometric imaging. A mapping algorithm has been developed demonstrating the relationship between the robotic manipulators' configuration such that joint-level trajectories are deduced to move or re-position the robotic arm, resulting in a successful approach to accurately control the relative spacing between the interferometric platforms. Each interferometric platform represents a spacecraft bus mount to which one or more manipulators are mounted. No fuel is expended except for the initial configuration maneuvers. The imaging resolution of Proxima Centauri b was assessed and the types of features that could be detected.
The next decade presents a unique moment in the history of planetary astronomy. For the first tim... more The next decade presents a unique moment in the history of planetary astronomy. For the first time, we have the technologies at hand to discover and characterize a wide range of exoplanetary systems, possibly harboring true Earth analogues. The opportunity is no less than answering humanity's millennia old questions of "Are we alone?" and "How did we get here?". The best part: Canada can play a leading role in this historic endeavor, if we make deliberate strategic investments over the next decade. In this white paper, we lay out pathways to develop the necessary instrumentation in collaboration with national and international partners to address the most fundamental questions regarding the formation of planets, the diversity of planetary systems, and the frequency of life in the universe. We recommend critical investments in a portfolio of assets including high-dispersion coronagraphy instrumentation for the upcoming ground based 30-meter class telescopes, a...
The detection of atmospheric methane on Mars implies an active methane source. This introduces th... more The detection of atmospheric methane on Mars implies an active methane source. This introduces the possibility of a biotic source with the implied need to determine whether the methane is indeed biotic in nature or geologically generated. There is a clear need for robotic algorithms which are capable of manoeuvring a rover through a methane plume on Mars to locate its source. We explore aspects of Mars methane plume modelling to reveal complex dynamics characterized by advection and diffusion. A statistical analysis of the plume model has been performed and compared to analyses of terrestrial plume models. Finally, we consider a robotic search strategy to find a methane plume source. We find that gradient-based techniques are ineffective, but that more sophisticated model-based search strategies are unlikely to be available in near-term rover missions.
With the recent proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles for geophysical surveying, a novel oppo... more With the recent proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles for geophysical surveying, a novel opportunity exists to develop unmanned ground vehicles in parallel. This contribution features a study to integrate the Husky A200 robotic development platform with a GSMP 35U magnetometer that has recently been developed for the unmanned aerial vehicle market. Methods to identify and reduce the impact of magnetically noisy components on the unmanned ground vehicle platforms are discussed. The noise generated by the platform in laboratory and gentle field conditions, estimated using the fourth difference method for a magnetometer–vehicle separation distance of 121 cm and rotation of the chassis wheels at full speed (1 m/s), is ±1.97 nT. The integrated unmanned ground vehicle was used to conduct two robotic magnetic surveys to map cultural targets and natural variations of the magnetic field. In realistic field conditions, at a full speed of 1 m/s, the unmanned ground vehicle measured total m...
Geomagnetic data gathering by micro-rovers is gaining momentum both for future planetary explorat... more Geomagnetic data gathering by micro-rovers is gaining momentum both for future planetary exploration missions and for terrestrial applications in extreme environments. This paper presents research into the integration of a planetary micro-rover with a potassium total-field magnetometer. The 40 kg Kapvik micro-rover is an ideal platform due to an aluminium construction and a rocker-bogie mobility system, which provides good manoeuvrability and terrainability. A light-weight GSMP 35U (uninhabited aerial vehicle) magnetometer, comprised of a 0.65 kg sensor and 0.63 kg electronics module, was mounted to the chassis via a custom 1.21 m composite boom. The boom dimensions were optimized to be an effective compromise between noise mitigation and mechanical practicality. An analysis using the fourth difference method was performed estimating the magnetic noise envelope at ±0.03 nT at 10 Hz sampling frequency from the integrated systems during robotic operations. A robotic magnetic survey ca...
Abstract A robust classification system is proposed to support autonomous geological mapping of r... more Abstract A robust classification system is proposed to support autonomous geological mapping of rocky outcrops using grayscale digital images acquired by a planetary exploration rover. The classifier uses 13 Haralick textural parameters to describe the surface of rock samples, automatically catalogues this information into a 5-bin data structure, computes Bayesian probabilities, and outputs an identification. The system has been demonstrated using a library of 30 digital images of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The images are 3.5×3.5 cm 2 in size and composed of 256×256 pixels with 256 grayscale levels. They are first converted to gray level co-occurrence matrices which quantify the number of times adjacent pixels of similar intensity are present. The Haralick parameters are computed from these matrices. When all 13 parameters are used, classification accuracy, defined using an empirical scoring system, is 65% due to a large number of false positives. When the number of parameters and the choice of parameter is optimized, classification accuracy increases to 80%. The best results were achieved with 3 parameters that can be interpreted visually (angular second moment, contrast, correlation) together with two statistical parameters (sum of squares variance and difference variance) and a parameter derived from information theory (information measure of correlation II). The system has been kept simple not to draw excessive computational power from the rover. It could, however, be easily extended to handle additional parameters such as images acquired at different wavelengths.
Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technol... more Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and habitations. Here, we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating to the natural history of Mars, habitability, robotic and human exploration, planetary protection, and the impacts on human society. Key observations and findings include:–high escape rates of early Mars' atmosphere, including loss of water, impact present-day habitability;–putative fossils on Mars will likely be ambiguous biomarkers for life;–microbial contamination resulting from human habitation is unavoidable; and–based on Mars' current planetary protection category, robotic payload(s) should characterize the local martian environment for any life-forms prior to human habitation.Some of the outstanding questions are:–which interpretation of the hemispheric dichotomy of the planet is correct;–to what degree did deep-penetrating faults transport subsurface ...
2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO)
We present an outline of a self-replicating machine concept that utilises in-situ resources on th... more We present an outline of a self-replicating machine concept that utilises in-situ resources on the Moon with which to construct itself — this represents the ultimate bio-inspired system. In attempting to deal with the practical engineering issues with such a machine, there are a number of biomimetics lessons to be learned, the most important being the requirement to synthesise itself from local raw materials. The self-replicator may be envisaged as a mobile rover mounting a suite of 3D printers, drills, etc — this bears similarities to the upcoming Resource Prospector mission to the Moon to demonstrate in-situ resource utilisation. 3D printing of mechatronic components will be key to 3D printing of robotic machines. It will be partially demonstrated that electric motors and neural circuits can be 3D printed. On the assumption that almost any functional structure can be 3D printed, 3D printing motors and electronics constitutes a demonstration of universal construction capability.
In the early 1980s, the Sagan-Tipler debate raged regarding the interpretation of the Fermi parad... more In the early 1980s, the Sagan-Tipler debate raged regarding the interpretation of the Fermi paradox but no clear winner emerged. Sagan favoured the existence of ETI on the basis of the Copernican principle and Tipler favoured the non-existence of ETI on the basis of the Occam's razor principle. Tipler's stance was an expansion of the similar but earlier Hart declaration. However, crucial to the Tipler argument was the role played by self-replicating interstellar robot probes. Any technologically capable species will develop self-replication technology as the most economical means of exploring space and the Galaxy as a whole with minimal investment. There is no evidence of such probes in our solar system including the asteroid belt, ergo, ETI do not exist. This is a powerful and cogent argument. Counter-arguments have been weak including Sagan's sociological explanations. We present a Copernican argument that ETI do not exist – humans are developing self-replication techn...
The self-replicating machine has high utility by virtue of its universal construction properties ... more The self-replicating machine has high utility by virtue of its universal construction properties and its productive capacity for exponential growth. Their capacity is unrivalled. They can be deployed to the Moon to industrialize it using local in-situ resources in the short term to open up the solar system and thence deployed on interstellar spacecraft to explore the entire Galaxy by exploiting in-situ stellar system resources. Nevertheless, there are significant concerns regarding the inherent safety of self-replicating machines. We consider the general problem of runaway population growth in physical self-replicating machines to prevent the grey goo problem, the number of offspring spawned by self-replicating machines may be controlled at a genetic level. We adopt a biologically-inspired approach based on telomeres, DNA endcaps that are progressively shortened during cellular replication. This acts as a counter that imposes a limit to the number of replication cycles (Hayflick lim...
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Geoengineering approaches to climate change mitigation are unpopular and regarded with suspicion.... more Geoengineering approaches to climate change mitigation are unpopular and regarded with suspicion. Of these, space-based approaches are regarded as unworkable and enormously costly. Here, a space-based approach is presented that is modest in cost, fully controllable and reversible, and acts as a natural spur to the development of solar power satellites over the longer term as a clean source of energy. The low-cost approach exploits self-replication technology which it is proposed may be enabled by 3D printing technology. Self-replication of 3D printing platforms will enable mass production of simple spacecraft units. Key elements being developed are 3D-printable electric motors and 3D-printable vacuum tube-based electronics. The power of such technologies will open up enormous possibilities at low cost including space-based geoengineering.
This research addresses the application of 3D printing technologies in innovative electrical mach... more This research addresses the application of 3D printing technologies in innovative electrical machinery. To date, there is a lack of fabricated devices with electromechanical functionality for parts entirely manufactured using only Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. This study provides a new and different approach to create a fully 3D printed electric motors, with a focus on an additively manufactured iron core, winding, insulation, and permanent magnet. We investigate how to develop 3D printed motor with multi-material and multi-technique without using embedding devices. Several prototypes of radial and axial flux DC electric motors were fabricated and tested. Their functionality indicated the potential of achieving 3D-printed motor using inexpensive, commercially available equipment. A good plan application is to use the 3D printed motor as the core component of a self-replicating machine. Suppose such a machine was deployed on the Moon. It could be a robotic system that use...
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