Taxonomy Category Summary

This taxonomy category is divided into six main areas: sensing and perception, mobility, manipulation, human-robot interaction, autonomous rendezvous and docking, and robotics integration. Sensing and perception provides situational awareness for robots and covers the following areas: sensing for robotic systems (force, torque, tactile, 3D sensors, etc.), estimation of relative position, attitude and motion of vehicle, onboard mapping, and object/event/activity recognition. Mobility focuses on how robots can move in different environments (below-surface, above-surface, small body/microgravity, along surface) as well as the component technologies related to movement (navigational and path planning, switching between mobility platforms or combining crew and mobility platforms). Manipulation focuses on the different ways the robot can interact with the environment. This includes the capability for a robot to handle, position, and control objects and interfaces, grappling technologies, modeling of forces/torques in robot’s interactions, and sample acquisition and handling. Human-Robot interaction deals with interfaces and ways humans can operate robots. This can be done through multiple modes of communication, interacting with the robot side by side, and remote interaction. Autonomous rendezvous and docking deals with all the technology surrounding the contact between two spacecraft or a spacecraft and small body: relative navigation sensors, rendezvous and docking algorithms, capture sensors (force, moment, strain, contact, proximity), capture mechanisms, and modeling and simulation of this docking process. Finally, robotics integration focuses on the framework for achieving coordination and integration of robotic systems. This covers areas exploring the flexibility of robotic systems (e.g: self-assembly, self-configuring), robot modeling and simulation, and robot software (robot architectures and frameworks).

Research Affiliates

Below are our faculty affiliates whose research fall under this taxonomy category.