1st Space Exploration Conference: Continuing the Voyage of Discovery, 2005
Crucial to the development of a system of systems infrastructure for space exploration is a truly... more Crucial to the development of a system of systems infrastructure for space exploration is a truly scalable control architecture. This architecture must be built on the reliable, adaptable operation and cooperation of autonomous systems at multiple levels. Advances in hardware and software computing technology allow us to consider anew the range of control systems from reactive, lowlevel to deliberate, heuristic systems. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), we have been developing the means to create space and surface systems that are active participants in their environment rather than being merely visitors that withstand space's hazards as our extended remotely controlled tools. Central to this work has been the development of the Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) mission architecture and the Neural Basis Function Synthetic Neural System (NBF/SNS) which are included among the subjects of several GSFC provisional patent applications. These are scalable systems with non-linear dynamics built in to deal with irregularity, uncertainty, and unpredictability in their environments. These system architectures outline pathways from existing near-term capabilities to far-term enabling technologies.
We describe the Prospecting ANTS Mission (PAM) whose object is to explore the resource potential ... more We describe the Prospecting ANTS Mission (PAM) whose object is to explore the resource potential the Solar System's Asteroid Belt. The mission is consistent with the present NASA strategic plan for the HEDS (Human Exploration and Development of ...
AIAA 1st Intelligent Systems Technical Conference, 2004
Nanotechnology, taken to its full three-dimensional potential, will place within the volume of a ... more Nanotechnology, taken to its full three-dimensional potential, will place within the volume of a cube of sugar systems of vast complexity that far exceed the quantitative and qualitative capabilities of today's largest supercomputers. Currently, the uncertainty and imprecision of the real world is tamed, rigidly fixed, by addressable, digital techniques and the careful orchestration of digital patterns within our machines. How to handle the interaction between our digitally implemented systems and continuous, disorganized nature is a key question. NASA is currently researching ways to move beyond autonomy implemented as bruteforce control over every degree of freedom we can discover in our systems. Our systems operate in natural environments: inhumanly harsh, unfamiliar, unknown, and uncontrolled environments. Nature often surprises us, and so we turn to natural systems for clues about how to make massively complex systems more robust, reliable, and truly autonomous. Turning to Computer Science we draw on what we've learned about multi-agent systems running continuously and autonomously to understand information flow at the highest semantic levels. From physics we recall that the behaviors of systems may often be enumerated in a basis of fundamental behaviors. Non-linear physics contains clues about how to connect the physical world with the patterns of electric signals that make up the soft, information component of the systems. Genetics and control theory instruct how to handle long and short-term feedbacks throughout the system. Chemistry and biology provide important guiding principles governing system functions. We touch on our first experiments with Neural Basis Functions (NBF), a hybrid hardware/software construct that is a key component in Super Micro Autonomous Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) enabled systems architectures.
ANTS Architecture is based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) adaptable for the full ... more ANTS Architecture is based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) adaptable for the full spectrum of activities in space. ART systems based on currently available electromechanical (EMS) technology could support human crews on the lunar surface within the next 10 to 15 years. Two or more decades from now, NEMS (Super Miniaturized ART or SMART) technology could perform fully autonomous surveys and operations beyond the reach of human crews. Power system requirements would range from 1 kg to generate tens of Watts for near term ART applications, such as a lunar or Mars Lander Amorphous Rover Antenna (LARA), to <0.1 kg to generate hundreds of mWatts for more advanced SMART applications. POWER SYSTEMS FOR FUTURE MISSIONS Availability of small radioisotope power system (RPS) technology will enable opportunities for scientifically valuable missions which were previously unachievable (Mondt, 2000; Johnson, 2002). Batteries based on this technology will allow modest vehicles to operate in areas of minimal to non-existent insolation over long periods of time, in unilluminated hemispheres of terrestrial planets, or in or on targets beyond the asteroid belt. Such vehicles would include subsatellites and small rovers with reasonable payloads with power requirements in the tens of watts to tens of milliwatts range, equipped with supplemental systems for peak load operations. This power generation technology is particularly applicable to ANTS architecture applications, which are extremely efficient in operation, and thus have modest power and minimal weight requirements (Curtis et al, 2000; Clark et al, 2004a, 2004b, 2004c). THE ANTS CONCEPT The Autonomous NanoTechnology Swarm (ANTS) Architecture is based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) adaptable for the full spectrum of activities in remote/hazardous environments such as space. The architecture is based on the tetrahedron as a building block, with edges consisting of struts deployed from nodes at apices. Tetrahedra are combined to form space-filling networks of nodes and struts. ANTS systems based on available electromechanical technology (@ 1kg/m2) could support human crews on the lunar surface within the next 10 to 15 years. A prototype of such a system is currently under construction. ANTS systems based on NEMs (Super Miniaturized ART or SMART) technology (@ >5g/m2) could perform fully autonomous surveys and operations beyond the reach of human crews two or more decades from now. Basic structural components are highly modular, addressable arrays of robust nodes, from which highly reconfigurable struts, acting as supports or tethers, or surfaces, are efficiently reversibly deployed/stowed, transforming the structures as required for all functions in space and on the ground. Reusability of ANTS components thus limits the need for resources, along with cost, mass, size, bandwidth, power, and, of course, expendables. ANTS systems have already been conceptualized for three applications spanning three decades (LARA: Lander Amorphous Rover Antenna; PAM: Prospecting Asteroid Mission; SARA: Saturn Autonomous Ring Array) (Clark et al, 2004b, 2004c, 2004d) where solar illumination could be minimal, including high latitude or polar regions, below ground, or beyond 3 AU. Thus, the use of small radioisotope power systems is particularly appealing.
55th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Institute of Space Law
Advances in micro- and nano-fabrication present to us the opportunity to reconsider how the very ... more Advances in micro- and nano-fabrication present to us the opportunity to reconsider how the very mechanical structure of a spacecraft may be implemented. These advances will be at least as important as the development of structural truss technology. A new mechanical architecture called Super Miniaturized Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) has been developed to guide the integration of sensing, actuation, and
Missions in NASA's Solar-Terrestrial Probe line feature challenges such as multiple spacecraft an... more Missions in NASA's Solar-Terrestrial Probe line feature challenges such as multiple spacecraft and high data production rates. An important class of scientific instruments that have for years strained against limits on communications are the particle detectors used to measure space plasma density, temperature, and flow. The Plasma Moment Application (PMA) software is being developed for the NASA Remote Exploration & Experimentation (REE) Program's series of Flight Processor Testbeds. REE seeks to enable instrument science teams to move data analyses such as PMA on board the spacecraft thereby reducing communication downlink requirements. Here we describe the PMA for the first time and examine its behavior under single bit faults in its static state. We find that-90% of the faults lead to tolerable behavior, while the remainder cause either program failure or nonsensical results. These results help guide the development of fault tolerant, non-hardened flighvscience processors. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. PLASMA MOMENT APPLICATION 3. TESTING METHOD 4. RESULTS 5. CONCLUSIONS
On the path towards an operational Space Weather System are science missions involving as many as... more On the path towards an operational Space Weather System are science missions involving as many as 100 spacecraft (Magnetospheric Constellation, DRACO, 2010). Multiple spacecraft are required to measure the macro, meso, and micro scale plasma physics that underlies Geospace phenomea. Simultaneous multi point in situ measurements enable the determination of electric current in space and the discrimination of temporal and spatial phenomena. From these quantities, the structure and dynamics of Geospace may be modeled and better understood. We work towards the day when multi point, real time data might be gathered on Earth to produce maps and forecasts of Space Weather conditions. To be feasible, however, multiple spacecraft missions must be no more costly to operate than single spacecraft missions are today. Furthermore, communication availability places severe constraints on an entire mission architecture and hampers the resolution, coverage, timeliness, and hence, usefulness of spacecraft data.
The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding which is sufficiently comprehen... more The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding which is sufficiently comprehensive to allow realistic predictions of the behavior of the physical systems. Theory has a central role to play in the quest for this understanding. The level of theoretical description is dependent on three constraints: (1) the available computer hardware may limit both the number and
Frontier is a web-based framework for concurrent multidisciplinary collaboration on the analysis ... more Frontier is a web-based framework for concurrent multidisciplinary collaboration on the analysis and design of system architectures associated with systems of systems. Supported by DARPA TTO System F6 (Future, Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying spacecraft architecture), the aim is to develop a framework that can be used to analyze alternative approaches to the use of space. In particular, Frontier aims to
The Saturn Autonomous Ring Array (SARA) mission concept applies the Autonomous Nano-Technology Sw... more The Saturn Autonomous Ring Array (SARA) mission concept applies the Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) architecture, a paradigm developed for exploration of high surface area and/or multi-body targets. ANTS architecture involves large numbers of tiny, highly autonomous, yet socially interactive, craft, in a small number of specialist classes. SARA will acquire in situ observations in the high gravity environment of Saturn's
A reconfigurable space filling robotic architecture has a wide range of possible applications. On... more A reconfigurable space filling robotic architecture has a wide range of possible applications. One of the more intriguing possibilities is mobility in very irregular and otherwise impassable terrain. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is developing the third generation of its Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) Tetrahedral Robotics Architecture. An ART-based variable geometry truss consisting of 12 tetrahedral elements made from 26 smart struts on a wireless network has been developed. The primary goal of this development is the demonstration of a new kind of robotic mobility that can provide access and articulation that complement existing capabilities. An initial set of gaits and other behaviors are being tested, and accommodations for payloads such as sensor and telemetry packages are being studied. Herein, we describe our experience with the ART Tetrahedral Robotics Architecture and the improvements implemented in the
1st Space Exploration Conference: Continuing the Voyage of Discovery, 2005
Crucial to the development of a system of systems infrastructure for space exploration is a truly... more Crucial to the development of a system of systems infrastructure for space exploration is a truly scalable control architecture. This architecture must be built on the reliable, adaptable operation and cooperation of autonomous systems at multiple levels. Advances in hardware and software computing technology allow us to consider anew the range of control systems from reactive, lowlevel to deliberate, heuristic systems. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), we have been developing the means to create space and surface systems that are active participants in their environment rather than being merely visitors that withstand space's hazards as our extended remotely controlled tools. Central to this work has been the development of the Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) mission architecture and the Neural Basis Function Synthetic Neural System (NBF/SNS) which are included among the subjects of several GSFC provisional patent applications. These are scalable systems with non-linear dynamics built in to deal with irregularity, uncertainty, and unpredictability in their environments. These system architectures outline pathways from existing near-term capabilities to far-term enabling technologies.
We describe the Prospecting ANTS Mission (PAM) whose object is to explore the resource potential ... more We describe the Prospecting ANTS Mission (PAM) whose object is to explore the resource potential the Solar System's Asteroid Belt. The mission is consistent with the present NASA strategic plan for the HEDS (Human Exploration and Development of ...
AIAA 1st Intelligent Systems Technical Conference, 2004
Nanotechnology, taken to its full three-dimensional potential, will place within the volume of a ... more Nanotechnology, taken to its full three-dimensional potential, will place within the volume of a cube of sugar systems of vast complexity that far exceed the quantitative and qualitative capabilities of today's largest supercomputers. Currently, the uncertainty and imprecision of the real world is tamed, rigidly fixed, by addressable, digital techniques and the careful orchestration of digital patterns within our machines. How to handle the interaction between our digitally implemented systems and continuous, disorganized nature is a key question. NASA is currently researching ways to move beyond autonomy implemented as bruteforce control over every degree of freedom we can discover in our systems. Our systems operate in natural environments: inhumanly harsh, unfamiliar, unknown, and uncontrolled environments. Nature often surprises us, and so we turn to natural systems for clues about how to make massively complex systems more robust, reliable, and truly autonomous. Turning to Computer Science we draw on what we've learned about multi-agent systems running continuously and autonomously to understand information flow at the highest semantic levels. From physics we recall that the behaviors of systems may often be enumerated in a basis of fundamental behaviors. Non-linear physics contains clues about how to connect the physical world with the patterns of electric signals that make up the soft, information component of the systems. Genetics and control theory instruct how to handle long and short-term feedbacks throughout the system. Chemistry and biology provide important guiding principles governing system functions. We touch on our first experiments with Neural Basis Functions (NBF), a hybrid hardware/software construct that is a key component in Super Micro Autonomous Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) enabled systems architectures.
ANTS Architecture is based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) adaptable for the full ... more ANTS Architecture is based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) adaptable for the full spectrum of activities in space. ART systems based on currently available electromechanical (EMS) technology could support human crews on the lunar surface within the next 10 to 15 years. Two or more decades from now, NEMS (Super Miniaturized ART or SMART) technology could perform fully autonomous surveys and operations beyond the reach of human crews. Power system requirements would range from 1 kg to generate tens of Watts for near term ART applications, such as a lunar or Mars Lander Amorphous Rover Antenna (LARA), to <0.1 kg to generate hundreds of mWatts for more advanced SMART applications. POWER SYSTEMS FOR FUTURE MISSIONS Availability of small radioisotope power system (RPS) technology will enable opportunities for scientifically valuable missions which were previously unachievable (Mondt, 2000; Johnson, 2002). Batteries based on this technology will allow modest vehicles to operate in areas of minimal to non-existent insolation over long periods of time, in unilluminated hemispheres of terrestrial planets, or in or on targets beyond the asteroid belt. Such vehicles would include subsatellites and small rovers with reasonable payloads with power requirements in the tens of watts to tens of milliwatts range, equipped with supplemental systems for peak load operations. This power generation technology is particularly applicable to ANTS architecture applications, which are extremely efficient in operation, and thus have modest power and minimal weight requirements (Curtis et al, 2000; Clark et al, 2004a, 2004b, 2004c). THE ANTS CONCEPT The Autonomous NanoTechnology Swarm (ANTS) Architecture is based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) adaptable for the full spectrum of activities in remote/hazardous environments such as space. The architecture is based on the tetrahedron as a building block, with edges consisting of struts deployed from nodes at apices. Tetrahedra are combined to form space-filling networks of nodes and struts. ANTS systems based on available electromechanical technology (@ 1kg/m2) could support human crews on the lunar surface within the next 10 to 15 years. A prototype of such a system is currently under construction. ANTS systems based on NEMs (Super Miniaturized ART or SMART) technology (@ >5g/m2) could perform fully autonomous surveys and operations beyond the reach of human crews two or more decades from now. Basic structural components are highly modular, addressable arrays of robust nodes, from which highly reconfigurable struts, acting as supports or tethers, or surfaces, are efficiently reversibly deployed/stowed, transforming the structures as required for all functions in space and on the ground. Reusability of ANTS components thus limits the need for resources, along with cost, mass, size, bandwidth, power, and, of course, expendables. ANTS systems have already been conceptualized for three applications spanning three decades (LARA: Lander Amorphous Rover Antenna; PAM: Prospecting Asteroid Mission; SARA: Saturn Autonomous Ring Array) (Clark et al, 2004b, 2004c, 2004d) where solar illumination could be minimal, including high latitude or polar regions, below ground, or beyond 3 AU. Thus, the use of small radioisotope power systems is particularly appealing.
55th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Institute of Space Law
Advances in micro- and nano-fabrication present to us the opportunity to reconsider how the very ... more Advances in micro- and nano-fabrication present to us the opportunity to reconsider how the very mechanical structure of a spacecraft may be implemented. These advances will be at least as important as the development of structural truss technology. A new mechanical architecture called Super Miniaturized Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) has been developed to guide the integration of sensing, actuation, and
Missions in NASA's Solar-Terrestrial Probe line feature challenges such as multiple spacecraft an... more Missions in NASA's Solar-Terrestrial Probe line feature challenges such as multiple spacecraft and high data production rates. An important class of scientific instruments that have for years strained against limits on communications are the particle detectors used to measure space plasma density, temperature, and flow. The Plasma Moment Application (PMA) software is being developed for the NASA Remote Exploration & Experimentation (REE) Program's series of Flight Processor Testbeds. REE seeks to enable instrument science teams to move data analyses such as PMA on board the spacecraft thereby reducing communication downlink requirements. Here we describe the PMA for the first time and examine its behavior under single bit faults in its static state. We find that-90% of the faults lead to tolerable behavior, while the remainder cause either program failure or nonsensical results. These results help guide the development of fault tolerant, non-hardened flighvscience processors. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. PLASMA MOMENT APPLICATION 3. TESTING METHOD 4. RESULTS 5. CONCLUSIONS
On the path towards an operational Space Weather System are science missions involving as many as... more On the path towards an operational Space Weather System are science missions involving as many as 100 spacecraft (Magnetospheric Constellation, DRACO, 2010). Multiple spacecraft are required to measure the macro, meso, and micro scale plasma physics that underlies Geospace phenomea. Simultaneous multi point in situ measurements enable the determination of electric current in space and the discrimination of temporal and spatial phenomena. From these quantities, the structure and dynamics of Geospace may be modeled and better understood. We work towards the day when multi point, real time data might be gathered on Earth to produce maps and forecasts of Space Weather conditions. To be feasible, however, multiple spacecraft missions must be no more costly to operate than single spacecraft missions are today. Furthermore, communication availability places severe constraints on an entire mission architecture and hampers the resolution, coverage, timeliness, and hence, usefulness of spacecraft data.
The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding which is sufficiently comprehen... more The ultimate goal of this research is to develop an understanding which is sufficiently comprehensive to allow realistic predictions of the behavior of the physical systems. Theory has a central role to play in the quest for this understanding. The level of theoretical description is dependent on three constraints: (1) the available computer hardware may limit both the number and
Frontier is a web-based framework for concurrent multidisciplinary collaboration on the analysis ... more Frontier is a web-based framework for concurrent multidisciplinary collaboration on the analysis and design of system architectures associated with systems of systems. Supported by DARPA TTO System F6 (Future, Fast, Flexible, Fractionated, Free-Flying spacecraft architecture), the aim is to develop a framework that can be used to analyze alternative approaches to the use of space. In particular, Frontier aims to
The Saturn Autonomous Ring Array (SARA) mission concept applies the Autonomous Nano-Technology Sw... more The Saturn Autonomous Ring Array (SARA) mission concept applies the Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) architecture, a paradigm developed for exploration of high surface area and/or multi-body targets. ANTS architecture involves large numbers of tiny, highly autonomous, yet socially interactive, craft, in a small number of specialist classes. SARA will acquire in situ observations in the high gravity environment of Saturn's
A reconfigurable space filling robotic architecture has a wide range of possible applications. On... more A reconfigurable space filling robotic architecture has a wide range of possible applications. One of the more intriguing possibilities is mobility in very irregular and otherwise impassable terrain. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is developing the third generation of its Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) Tetrahedral Robotics Architecture. An ART-based variable geometry truss consisting of 12 tetrahedral elements made from 26 smart struts on a wireless network has been developed. The primary goal of this development is the demonstration of a new kind of robotic mobility that can provide access and articulation that complement existing capabilities. An initial set of gaits and other behaviors are being tested, and accommodations for payloads such as sensor and telemetry packages are being studied. Herein, we describe our experience with the ART Tetrahedral Robotics Architecture and the improvements implemented in the
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Papers by Steve Curtis