© 2010 RalSpace RAL Space – Intro and the SEEKER project 28 January 2013 Aron Kisdi Space Systems Engineer RAL Space

HM Government (& HM Treasury) RCUK Executive Group Space Physics Divn Space Data & Ground Systems Divn Atmospheric Science & Earth Observation Divn Space Engineering & Technology Divn Imaging Systems Divn Research Councils STFC Departments RAL Space Divisions

© 2010 RalSpace Space Activities 50 year space heritage (starting with Alouette 1 in 1962) Design / build space instruments (200 to date GERB-3 being the latest launched 2012 on MSG-3) £20M turnover, ~15,000 Users Situated somewhere between academia and industry Space research (astronomy, solar, climate) Provide test & calibration facilities and innovative technology developments in support of space programmes Wide Customer base (UK Govt, Space Agencies/Institutes, UK & overseas industries and Universities) Economic impact (spin-outs, terrestrial applications, Outreach, training)

© 2010 RAL Space Solar 10 Solar missions over last 30 years STEREO SDO HINODE Solar Orbiter HINODE Space Science - 1 Astronomy Next generation space- & ground- based instruments Herschel ALMA JWST/MIRIVISTA Planetary Science Instrumentation for missions to all inner planets Venus Express Chandrayaan-1 C1XSMars Express

© 2010 RAL Space Earth Observation Instruments for land, sea, air; enabling improved climate models HINODE Space Science - 2 SSA Instrumentation for space weather; developing future protection technology; govt security agenda ATSR MSG - GERB EarthCARE /BBR Cluster ACE Mini-Mags

© 2010 RAL Space Space Engineering & Technology Division Thermal Engineering Group AIV Group Mechanical Engineering Group Systems Group Product Assurance Group Robotics Group MiniMags radiation shield Miniature Radiation Monitor CDF Group

Robotics Robotics Group established to exploit existing in-house expertise and interest in autonomy and the UK ESA Centre’s aim to be a centre for planetary exploration and robotics Developed a number of rover platforms: -numerous small ‘Outreach’ rovers for hands-on student participation at exhibitions and on-site -Rugged low-cost terrestrial rovers, Kryten and Rimmer, for long-distance autonomous navigation trials; Rimmer is a 6-wheeled rover with motors on each wheel with full feedback and independent control; instrumented with stereo cameras, differential GPS, IMU; high capacity batteries giving 12 hours operation between charges -a highly agile platform, RAL Rover, to complement high-end space robotic developments – capable of rolling, walking and climbing -Agile Robotics Platform (ARP) a high precision research platform that fits in a suitcase

© 2010 RAL Space

StarTiger Tackle complex design issues by co-locating a group of experts in an intensive design environment for 6 months RAL Space is leading a Consortium that includes SciSys, BAe Systems, Roke Manor, LAAS(F) and MDA Robotics (Ca) to investigate / demonstrate autonomous navigation by an interplanetary rover over a 6km route Requires state-of-the-art advancements in: -accurate long-range localisation without GPS -precision returns to previously visited sites -reliable hazard detection and avoidance -automatic identification of science opportunities Offices and a Robotics Lab have been provided and a newly-landscaped Mars-like rover trials area + access to the RAL Space CDF & adjacent conference facilities Local trials will be followed by long duration trials in the Atacama Desert in Chile SciSys’ Indie BAeS’ RoboVolc RAL Space’s Rimmer

Why autonomy? © 2010 RAL Space

Scope of SEEKER Combine existing technologies to enable a rover to autonomously traverse 6km over a 3 day period on a Mars representative terrain. vision technology: single stereo camera sensor technology: IMU, platform odometry exclude representative on-board computer exclude representative rover performance validation using high accuracy (10 mm) differential GPS and high resolution (10-20 mm) global DEM constructed from in-situ UAV imagery. © 2010 RAL Space

System Software integration project Relies on hardware to succeed Systems engineer needs to identify the critical components © 2010 RAL Space

The rover Driving performance (speed, slopes, sand, obstacle clearance) Power system (range, time, peak power) Interfacing (API, available commands) Computing power (performance, memory, storage) Thermal management (cooling, heating) Communication (range, data-rate, frequency) Mechanisms © 2010 RAL Space

The software © 2010 RAL Space

Other critical components Testing location –Size and characteristics –Available maps and monitoring Calibration –Sensor calibration –Platform calibration (centre, turn rate) Spares –Reparability on the field –Reparability at base © 2010 RAL Space

SEEKER project process All consortium members at same location Integration and local testing over 6 month Local trials Final Trials: –Assessment of Mars analog –Mojave, Sonoran Desert, Tenerife, Hawaii, Morocco, Chile –Chile site was selected © 2010 RAL Space

Chile Final Trial Site © 2010 RAL Space

SEEKER Autonomy software Visual Odometry DEM generation Path Planning –Short range –Long range –Identification of points of scientific interest Localisation [storyboard] © 2010 RAL Space

Visual Odometry DROID from ROKE manor © 2010 RAL Space

Visual Odometry © 2010 RAL Space

Visual Odometry performance © 2010 RAL Space

DEM Generation © 2010 RAL Space

DEM Generation © 2010 RAL Space

DEM Generation © 2010 RAL Space Point cloud of multiple image-pairs

Global DEM generation Use sub 5 kg UAV to gather aerial images © 2010 RAL Space

Global DEM Generation © 2010 RAL Space

Global DEM Generation © 2010 RAL Space

Path planning Weighted map “pixel” size ½ of rover size Weighting by traversability, VO performance © 2010 RAL Space

Future autonomy research © 2010 RAL Space

Future Autonomy research © 2010 RAL Space

Localisation Use large or distant features to localise Difficult in desert Could use steep slopes to localise Could use large rocks to localise © 2010 RAL Space

Future of robotics Better autonomy Critical Decision making Better sensors-computers-hardware Collaboration –Behaviour based AI –Swarm intelligence © 2010 RAL Space

Future of robotics Moon –Google x-prize? –Lunar Polar lander +1 –Base building Mars –ExoMars –Mars Sample Return Earth Asteroids Human interaction © 2010 RAL Space

Any questions? © 2010 RAL Space

Seeker will deliver a quantum leap in autonomy for Space Rovers by providing high- speed, long-range, autonomous navigation integrated with opportunistic science. Seeker is an international collaborative project led by RAL Space and funded by the ESA StarTiger programme which accelerates technology development through intense co-located activities. Seeker – High-speed long-range autonomy for future planetary science exploration RoboVolc The Seeker Challenge Long Range Path Planning Autonomous Science Assessment Absolute Localisation Terrain Sensing Short Range Path Planning Visual Odometry