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Space Robotics Science

NASA's Personal Satellite Assistants 152

Posted by michael from the battlebots dept.
colonist writes "Wired News reports on the Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA), a spherical robot about the size of a softball that uses air jets to move in the microgravity environment of space vehicles and habitats. Described as a cross between Star Trek's tricorder and Star Wars' lightsaber training droid, the PSA has 'sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure' and performs 'video conferencing and can communicate with electronic support devices such as computer servers, avionics systems, and wireless LAN bridges'." We mentioned these a few years ago - looks like they've come a long way since then.
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NASA's Personal Satellite Assistants More

NASA's Personal Satellite Assistants

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  • Other links of interest (Score:5, Informative)

    by bonghorn ( 787130 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:22PM (#9390181)
    More information is available here [space.com] and here [linuxdevices.com].

    Kind of weird that they don't play up the fact it runs linux more.

  • the BIT (Score:5, Funny)

    by drenehtsral ( 29789 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:22PM (#9390189) Homepage
    It sounds to me like the Bit from tron =:-) *YES* *NO*
  • All that money wasted on this project, could have gotten this guy some plastic surgery. Poor man...

  • More on Defense Tech (Score:5, Informative)

    by noahmax ( 534339 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:23PM (#9390200) Homepage
    There's a bunch more on how the Trek-inspired 'bot was built and tested here [defensetech.org].

  • Cross between what now? (Score:5, Funny)

    by SpiffyMarc ( 590301 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:24PM (#9390203)
    It's a cross between the tricorder and the lightsaber training droid... so... it shoots at me until I'm hit, and then uses that little detachable wand to scan my wound?

    That's awesome. Put me down for two.

  • Earning my nerd stripes (Score:5, Informative)

    by darth_MALL ( 657218 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:25PM (#9390230)
    Wrong SW droid man! The IT-0 droid in that link is a torture droid. You will find the correct Training Remote Here. [starwars.com] May the Force be with YOU!

  • strap a helium baloon to it! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by w3weasel ( 656289 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:26PM (#9390239) Homepage
    strap a helium baloon to it! why should space-men have all the fun toys!
    • strap a helium baloon to it!

      I imagine you would need quite a large volume of helium to lift something like that.

      Did you ever try to hang something to that helium baloon you got for free at the fair? It can lift a piece of paper and not much more.

      Check this flying saucer [thinkgeek.com]. This big bag of helium can lift only a small battery, receiver and an electric motor. Strap a PDA to it, and you would probably need twice the volume.

      I guess you could do better if you used hydrogen, but then I don't think anyone would
    • Approx 1mx1mx1m of helium needed to lift each kg. How much does it weigh? 5kg, 10kg? That's a *big* balloon to have following you down the street.

  • Cost of Space Missions (Score:5, Interesting)

    by artlu ( 265391 ) <artlu@art[ ]net ['lu.' in gap]> on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:26PM (#9390253) Homepage Journal
    If droids can replace mundane human tasks on space missions, then Nasa is doing very well to spend their money on these things. Just think of it as a droid automating the stupid tasks of checking environmental controls, or outside activity. pretty cool.
  • This stuff is REALLY cool.

    I just wish NASA had thought of it a while back. I know the Columbia accident was a wake up call, but that's like buying flood insurance after a hurricane.

  • Anybody else hearing that description ... (Score:4, Funny)

    by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06.email@com> on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:27PM (#9390260)
    start thinking about V.I.N.CENT(Vital Information Necessary CENTralized) [imdb.com]?

    Oh, was that a bad movie. And I paid to see it too.

  • also (Score:5, Informative)

    by abscondment ( 672321 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:27PM (#9390267) Homepage

    also being covered at [space.com] some [marketresearch.com] sites [mos.org].

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:PSA (Score:5, Funny)

      by MonkeyCookie ( 657433 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:51PM (#9390588)
      When I saw the picture of it, I also immediately thought of that torture droid thingy that Darth Vader was using during interrogations, rather this one is red and missing the big needle.

      Maybe they will use it to interrogate any aliens they come across.

      NASA astronaut: "Tell me the coordinates to your home planet!"
      Alien: "Nooo! I'll never tell!"
      NASA astronaut: "Have it your way. Bring me the personal satellite assistant! It will relieve me of the humdrum task of "convincing" you otherwise."
    • Don't worry, your article post will still make it!

      It'll just be the dupe.

  • Idea: (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Paulrothrock ( 685079 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:28PM (#9390277) Homepage Journal
    Why not put a small CO2 cartridge in it so that it could move through a space that has been depressurized? This would probably come in handy for, say, checking the status of a system after an accident.

    • Re:Idea: (Score:5, Informative)

      by EvilTwinSkippy ( 112490 ) <yoda@nOSpAM.etoyoc.com> on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:35PM (#9390368) Homepage Journal
      The complexities of ingress an egress for a robot through an air lock are not simple algorithms.

      Now assuming you get past that, something bumbling around in space needs armor to withstand micrometeorites, radiation shielding for the electronics, and some sort of thermal insulation to prevent the mechanics from tearing themselves apart when the sun side of the droid is at 400 degress and the shade site at -200.

      CO2 propellent can't be proportionally controlled as well as air from a fan, so you loose fine positioning control. And you have the problem of running out or propellent.

      I think that about covers it.

      • Re:Idea: (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Paulrothrock ( 685079 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:44PM (#9390485) Homepage Journal
        I meant inside the station. It's better than the poor thing wearing out its batteries spinning its fans in an airless environment, and safer than having the humans go in there.

        As for the airlock thing, I imagine the algorithm would go like this: 1)Wait for airlock door to open. 2) Enter airlock, 3) Move into position to exit airlock, 4)On depressurization, use CO2 jets to move out of airlock once egress door is open. Or you could have a human pilot it remotely, since it's already got a camera.

        Monitoring tank PSI and location (which I imagine it already does), you could make it so that you need to sudo anything that will put it somewhere it can't get back from. And timed bursts + a little math (for decreasing pressure in the tanks) = good enough control for emergencies.

        • spinning its fans in an airless environment

          Um... okay.. So the fans would be pushing against what now to provide the necessary force to move itself?

          Airless = No Air = Nothing for fan blades to push against.

          • Re:Idea: (Score:5, Interesting)

            by Mondoz ( 672060 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @03:45PM (#9391968)
            The fans could still be used to orient the device. Spin a fan one direction, the device rotates in the other direction.

            This kind of gyroscopic attitude control has been used for years in zero-gravity environments.
          • Yeah, that's the point; we would need CO2 jets to move it around in that environment.

            Folks, we have a new acronym: RFTP - Read the fscking parent!

      • I think you and the other poster in this thread aren't thinking outside the box. You have one for indoors and one for outdoors. Problems solved.

  • Reminds me... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fiannaFailMan ( 702447 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:28PM (#9390286) Journal
    Of that thing from Flash Gordon the freezes anyone who tries to assasinate Ming.

    I saw these things at NASA's AMES research center a few years ago. The article says they could be in serivice within three years too. Very cool.

  • Oh great... (Score:5, Funny)

    by cindy ( 19345 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:29PM (#9390295)
    Imagine Clippy come to life and able to follow you around commenting on everything you do.

    Lifespan: 2 hours
    Cause of failure: smashed against bulkhead by astronaut

    • Re:Oh great... (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Hi!
      It looks like you are trying to realign the ISS' gyroscopes!
      Would you like me to:

      • Search the internet for russian lolita porn?
      • Look at the ISS Help Files?
      • Report myself to SCO for patent infringement?

    • Combined with Just in time training and sensors... (Score:5, Funny)

      by 955301 ( 209856 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:46PM (#9390521) Journal
      sphere: Sensors indicate that the oxygen level in the cabin have decreased dramatically.

      astro-tauko-cosmo-naut: gasp!

      sphere: You appear to be suffocating. Would you like some training on the use of the backup oxygen supply?

      astro-tauko-cosmo-naut: cough... gasp!

      sphere: I did not understand your answer.

      sphere moves in front of 'naut to hear the response, obstructing the backup mask.

      astro-tauko-cosmo-naut passes out.

      sphere: You appear to have suffocated. I'm sorry, but I don't have instructions for you to follow on what to do next.
    • "Looks like you're trying to avoid a small annoying talking ball. Would you like help with that?"

  • Not that cool (Score:5, Funny)

    by scottennis ( 225462 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:30PM (#9390301) Homepage
    On the coolness meter it only rates slightly higher than sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads.

  • It runs linux? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mz6 ( 741941 ) * on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:34PM (#9390352) Journal
    Thank goodness because if it was Windows I could only imagine...

    *enter Clippy*
    "It looks like you are trying to breathe..."

  • In the cramped quarters of something like a space station, do you really want something else floating loose to run into?

  • Question... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by teknokracy ( 660401 )
    Do astronauts on the ISS have normal internet? Or are they just linked in an intranet and with NASA ground intranets....?

    • Re:Question... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by EvilTwinSkippy ( 112490 )
      I'm googling now. But I think it's links with a private network.

      An article in Space.com [space.com] back in 2000 describes the ISS Crew as having email, but no Internet access. Email is pretty easy to spool up and delivered when the ISS is in communication range. Web access is another matter entirely. (Remember, it's traveling around the world every 90 minutes. It's constantly hopping between ground relay stations.)

      Even if they do have internet access today, they probably have to spool up the sites they want to see

  • Cool - where can I get one? My own mass should be big enough for the necessary microgravity environment... ;)

  • Velcro (Score:2, Insightful)

    by NickDngr ( 561211 )
    Seems like it'd be a lot cheaper to put some velcro on a pda and stick it to the wall.

  • Landing party blues... (Score:4, Funny)

    by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:42PM (#9390461) Homepage Journal
    Jim: "Hmmm..a road eh...a sign of civilisation....set your phasers to 'kill'. Give me a tricorder reading Spock."

    Spock: "Atmosphere: breathable oxygen/nitrogen mixture..."

    Scotty: "..I should bloody well hope so.....and anyway..Federation Standard Landing Party Procedure states that tricorder readings of atmospheric content should take place BEFORE we set foot on the planet"

    Spock: "That's Federation bureaucrats for you....Someone should point out to them that it's only possible to take a tricorder reading once you're actually there..."

    Scotty: "but...but...but what happens if the atmosphere wasn't breathable?"

    Spock: "It always is...."

    Jim: "Anything else on the tricorder Spock?"

    Spock: "Yes I'm picking up some primitive radio frequency signals... ...here listen..."

    [...it's a brand new dance now...come on baby..do the locomotion...]

    Jim: "..primitive indeed..."

    Spock: "I bet she's got nice legs though.."

    Jim: "Spock!..what's wrong with you...that was Scotty's line..."

    WHAT happened next?)

    Next Week: Episode 4.

    Shamelessly reproduced from: Vax Trek V, the movie, The Crunchy Bits 2 [totse.com].

  • Looks more like a pod from 2001: ASO to me...

  • Still just a pipe dream... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mondoz ( 672060 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:45PM (#9390502)
    In order for this sort of thing to actually do the things it's described as being able to do, it's going to have to work and play well with the other systems onboard.

    One of the tools indicated on this device is an inventory scanner. Whomever is working on this project has yet to contact anyone in the inventory department about interfacing with the inventory software IMS (Inventory Management System) which uses its own barcode readers.

    This still has a long way to go before anyone sees them floating around any of the orbiting vehicles.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • This is being investigated, but with over 14,000 items and locations in the current database, RFID might be a little cost prohibitive.

        Dealing with an inventory system, in which all 4 planes (walls, ceilings, floors) are usable stowage locations presents many unique challenges... The Russian resistance to RF communications within their modules is another interesting one...

  • One Thing To Say (Score:4, Funny)

    by DarkHazard ( 713597 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:47PM (#9390527)
    Ultimate dodgeball.

  • Can they cooperate? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by blueZ3 ( 744446 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:49PM (#9390558) Homepage
    Leaving aside the Beowulf cluster jokes... I wonder if these could work cooperatively? It seems like six or eight of them could move light stuff around.

    Or for projects were more than one view would be helpful (aligning parts by remote, for instance) because of the lack of image depth, you could send two or three to capture an image from different viewpoints to help with the alignment.

    Cool!
  • You mean like that thing from Space Camp?! Is it as annoying? can it talk? wtf?!

  • More like Forward's "Christmas Trees" (Score:3, Informative)

    by TheGreatGraySkwid ( 553871 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:51PM (#9390585) Homepage
    In Robert Forward's Rocheworld [amazon.com] series, his characters have a fractally organized device called "The Christmas Tree." The limbs of the tree could break off, and the branches of those limbs could do likewise, and so on until you have little tiny clusters. Each cluster had some small amount of processing power, and sensor capability, and motile capability. A small branch was always with/following around after/worn by every crewmember, and could be used for pretty much everything these "PSAs" are intended for.

    Lots of good science in the Rocheworld books, but as prose and characters go...well, the science is really neat...
  • for the sporty astronaght the PSA can be used as a soocer/softball ball as it will stop itself from flying into you then will start swearing at you and trying to knock you out
  • I wander what sort of communcations options this thing has? It looks like there's a DB9 blug on the back, I hope they're not just using old-school RS-232 serial.

    What'd be great is if they were using something like WiFi or maybe even Bluetooth (you're never more than a few meters from anything in current space vehicles anyway). Then you can offload the more coputationally expensive tasks to a stationary computer or even have a small flock of droids working together.

    Note: after re-RTFA, the don't state any

    • RS-232 Purposes (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Teancum ( 67324 )
      While it may be "Old School", it is still a very useful communications option, particularly when other hardware is failing. Serial data communication is very solid, and usually easy to add or even built-in to most CPU modules that you would be use for a project like this. Bluetooth and WiFi is definitely not "built-in" like this. Essentially, for about $0.20 worth of hardware you can throw on a DB-9 port and have an excellent diagnostics access port when almost nothing else is working. I've seen RS-232

  • tri droid (Score:3, Funny)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Thursday June 10, 2004 @01:55PM (#9390628) Homepage Journal
    " Described as a cross between Star Trek's tricorder and Star Wars' lightsaber training droid, the PSA has 'sensors for measuring gases, temperature, and air pressure' "

    So.. it can shoot at you, then detect that you soiled yourself. I want one of these for my cat!
  • NASA's web site has pictures of non-functioning prototypes, a mockup, and computer graphics. Usually, anything NASA is hyping is accompanied by high-resolution color pictures. Is this thing for real?
    • Check the NASA website.

      There's a paper from 2000 [nasa.gov] showing the "1 G testbed", which is another air-hockey-puck robot. It doesn't fly; it skates around on a flat surface. That's the "testbed." [nasa.gov]

      According to the 2000 paper, the next step was supposed to be a 1.75x scale model of the 6 degree of freedom flyer, which was to be tested by flying it in the KC-135 aircraft used to train people to operate in zero G. We don't see that mentioned again.

      As far as I can tell, the Wired article's reference to "a vers

  • Just wonder, how much did it cost already? "Science is a way to satisfy your curiosity for money from government"
  • Paint this thing black and put a needle on it and I'd swear it's the thing Darth Vader used to torture Princess Leia.
  • Sounds like the hovering 'bot from the "Captain Stern" segment of the original Heavy Metal movie.

    "He's never done anything immoral....unless you count all those times he sold dope disguised as a nun."

  • Shuttle defence! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by JBMcB ( 73720 )
    Put a couple larger models to tag along outside the Shuttle, or Mir, and tie them into shipboard millimeter RADAR. They can manouvre in between the ship and/or shuttle and absorb/deflect any micrometeors that fly by. They can double as outboard cameras to monitor the station (ala satellite of love :) or redundant comms relays. If there's too much intertia a few ounces of shaped-charge high explosives goes a long way.
  • ....this [starwars.com] is a training remote. This [starwars.com] (as referenced in the submission) is an Imperial interrogation droid.
  • Can these things be programmed to duke it out with each other for the entertainment of the space station's crew? 0 grav battle bots they just need to attach drill bits, chain saws, etc. hrm, probably not too safe though
  • I was watching a Discovery channel documentary on the space station and all the cool things it had about a year ago. They showed this device then. It followed the astronauts around and was able to record their voice as well give them readings such as temp, gas composition and such. I remember at the time thinking what a great idea this was and I don't remember thinking that it was animation of any kind. Hmmm. LouSir
  • Hey I'm all for funky gadgets that fly around in space, and these are really incredibly cool. And getting more exposure is always good, but judging by the comments so far a lot of you were not aware of these funky orbs.
    But, I do have to point out that this is really old news, as a matter of fact it goes back at least to 18 October 2001 [archive.org]. courtesy of the Waybackmachine [archive.org]

    The sad part is, that I haven't seen any news on the project since.

    Murphy(c)

  • Doin' the Locomotion (Score:2, Interesting)

    by BCHodo ( 656127 )
    I was looking at the conceptual model, and I noticed that the thruster arrangement only applies force in the x, y and z axes. There are no nozzles that allow pitch, yaw and roll. Then I looked at the testbed. It has thrusters in the x and y axes that would also allow yaw changes, but no z translation, and no pitch or roll. Now, maybe they were planning to use gyros in the final version, but that would seem to be an unnecessary complication. It might be easier to have thruster nozzles with small electricall
  • It took them this long to get it working?

    I spent a semester and a half of hardly part-time work getting a similar project rolling with 5 other people. Granted, this PSA looks cooler and probably has better control, but we were undergrads and these are NASA post-docs with 8 hours per day to work on this.

    Check [nasa.gov], check [nasa.gov], check [nasa.gov], check [nasa.gov]it out.

    And yes, I realize we had a wire sticking out. It was our position/attitude sensor. EM requirements for the plane-borne lab wouldn't allow yet another wireless transce
  • Once we host consciousness on a computer, we are the sphere. Even now a brain should fit in a basketball-sized object.

    An outer neutron star shell would make us nearly invincible too.

  • sounds like Weebo to me. Hopefully it won't fall in love...

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