Command Robots from Orbit with Supervised Autonomy

Abstract

The on-going work at German Aerospace Center (DLR) and European Space Agency (ESA) on the Meteron Supvis-Justin space telerobotic experiment utilizing supervised autonomy is presented. The Supvis-Justin experiment will employ a tablet UI for an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) to communicate task level commands to a service robot. The goal is to explore the viability of supervised autonomy for space telerobotics. For its validation, survey, navigation, inspection, and maintenance tasks will be commanded to DLR's service robot, Rollin' Justin, to be performed in a simulated extraterrestrial environment constructed at DLR. The experiment is currently slated for late 2015-2016.