NASA robots

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) robots are robotic devices used to
aid, augment, or substitute for astronauts in order to do difficult or rote tasks such as repairs
in dangerous environments (such as those with radiation or micrometeorite risks), routine
procedures (video capture), etc.

o Robonauts
Robonaut is a joint DARPA–NASA project designed
to create a humanoid robot which can function as an
equivalent to humans during the 1970s and
exploration. The large goal of the Robonaut project is
to build a robot with dexterity that exceeds that of a
suited astronaut. Currently there are four different
robonauts with others in development, this variety of
robonauts allows for the study of different stages of
mobility and tasking for each situation. All four
versions of this robot use various locomotion methods. Some versions of the robot use the
Segway HT for locomotion. Robonaut uses telepresence and various levels of robotic
autonomy. While not all human range of motion and sensitivity has been duplicated, the
robot's hand has fourteen degrees of freedom and uses touch sensors at the tips of its fingers.
One of the benefits of a humanoid robot is that it would not have to need a whole new set of
tools.

o RASSOR
Pronounced "Razor", stands for Regolith
Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot.
It is a lunar robot that will autonomously
excavate soil when it is near completion, with
its small tank like chassis with a Drum
excavator and either side mounted on arms
which can help the robot climb over obstacles
that may be in its way. With these arms the
robot can successfully right itself if it flips over
and lift itself off the ground the clear its tracks
of debris. With the drums positioned vertically
RASSOR stands at about 2.5 ft. tall and expected to weigh about 100 pounds. With an
average speed of about 20 centimeters per second (five times faster than the Curiosity rover's
top speed on mars) the RASSOR will work 16 hours a day for many years (aminimum of 5
years as sated in the design requirements). In its design NASA has moved away from its
usual fragile and slow robot to design something more robust and hardy. The 2 excavating
drums are designed to slowly remove soil into a hopper that can hold 40 pounds of material.
The little robot will then drive to a processing plant where the lunar soil could be chemically
broken down and converted into rocket fuel, water or breathing air for astronauts working on
the moon and even possibly mars. In-situ resource utilization of lunar soil for fuel could save
the costs of launching a rocket as 90% of the rockets weight consists of propellants.
 o Spidernaut
Spidernaut is an arachnid inspired Extra
Vehicular Robot (EVR) that is being
designed by a NASA for construction,
maintenance, and repair projects in future
space missions that would be too difficult
or too dangerous for a human. The
Spidernaut's legs can move at three
different points, one rotary joint in the hip
and two more joints that are linear
actuated. Each leg weighs 40 pounds but
is capable of supporting 100 pounds and
exerting upwards of 250 pounds of force.
With the robots final weight of nearly 600 pounds evenly spread out across its eight legs
Spidernaut will be able to climb across many surfaces including solar panels and the exterior
of space craft without causing any damage. The feet of the robot are modular, meaning they
can be removed and replaced for different situations that the robot may be placed in. The
avionics and other electrical systems of the Spidernaut are located in what would be its thorax
and are made up of brushless DC motor controllers and power and data distributors along
with the power source. The robot is powered by a 72V/3600 Watt-hour lithium ion battery,
which feeds a Power Conditioning and Distribution Module which down converts the 72V
main bus to all the needed voltages for all the different devices on board. NASA has also
begun experimenting with a "web" like cable deployment system that would allow the robot
to climb and hang above structures that cannot support even light forces

o ATHLETE
ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-
Terrestrial Explorer) is a six-limbed robotic
lunar rover test-bed that is being developed in
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at
California Institute of Technology.
ATHLETE is a test bed forw various systems
that could be used for lunar or Martian
exploration. Each of the ATHLETE's six
limbs have six degrees of freedom meaning
they have six independently operated joints.
For general traveling purposes the ATHLETE
rolls on its six wheels but if it encounters
more rugged and extreme terrain, it is able to
lock each wheel into place and walk using its limbs. The first generation ATHLETE was
developed in 2005 and consisted of 6, six-degree-of-freedom limbs mounted to the frame of
the robot. With a standing height of 2 m (6.5 ft) and a hexagonal frame of 2.75 m (9 ft), the
ATHLETE weighs about 850 kg (1875 lb) and can carry a load of up to 300 kg (660 lb). only
two were ever constructed in 2005 and one is still operational today.