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Design of a walking robotCarnegie Mellon University's Autonomous Planetary Exploration Program (APEX) is currently building the Daedalus robot; a system capable of performing extended autonomous planetary exploration missions. Extended autonomy is an important capability because the continued exploration of the Moon, Mars and other solid bodies within the solar system will probably be carried out by autonomous robotic systems. There are a number of reasons for this - the most important of which are the high cost of placing a man in space, the high risk associated with human exploration and communication delays that make teleoperation infeasible. The Daedalus robot represents an evolutionary approach to robot mechanism design and software system architecture. Daedalus incorporates key features from a number of predecessor systems. Using previously proven technologies, the Apex project endeavors to encompass all of the capabilities necessary for robust planetary exploration. The Ambler, a six-legged walking machine was developed by CMU for demonstration of technologies required for planetary exploration. In its five years of life, the Ambler project brought major breakthroughs in various areas of robotic technology. Significant progress was made in: mechanism and control, by introducing a novel gait pattern (circulating gait) and use of orthogonal legs; perception, by developing sophisticated algorithms for map building; and planning, by developing and implementing the Task Control Architecture to coordinate tasks and control complex system functions. The APEX project is the successor of the Ambler project.
Document ID
19940020792
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Contractor Report (CR)
Authors
Whittaker, William (Carnegie-Mellon Univ. Pittsburgh, PA, United States)
Dowling, Kevin (Carnegie-Mellon Univ. Pittsburgh, PA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
March 4, 1994
Subject Category
Mechanical Engineering
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.26:195200
NASA-CR-195200
Accession Number
94N25274
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NCC3-297
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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