Open Robotics develops Space ROS with Blue Origin and NASA
Open Robotics is working with Blue Origin, the suborbital spaceflight company founded by Jeff Bezos, and NASA on Space ROS. Space ROS is a version of ROS 2 designed to meet the verification and validation requirements that aerospace software must satisfy before being used in a mission.
The Robot Operating System (ROS) has been used in space activities for more than a decade. Its use began at ROSCon 2012, where NASA presented the use of ROS in the humanoid robot Robonaut 2 (R2). NASA switched R2's software to ROS and used Gazebo (Open Robotics' 3D robotics simulator) to create a model of the robot and the International Space Station (ISS).
By 2014, R2 and its ROS-based software were already operating on the ISS. This was the first confirmed use of ROS in space.
When NASA began work on its next robot, Robonaut 5 (R5), also called Valkyrie, it used ROS from the very start. The agency also continued to use Gazebo for testing and developing the robot.
In 2015, NASA held the first virtual Space Robotics Challenge (SRC) to advance robotic software and autonomous capabilities for space exploration missions. For the SRC, teams were asked to simulate R5 performing habitat preparation tasks. The winner of the competition, Coordinated Robotics, was able to move its code from simulation to a real robot's hardware in one day.
Brian Gerkey, co-founder and CEO of Open Robotics, will speak at the robotics summit and expo taking place May 10–11 in Boston. His talk, titled "Robotics Needs a Babelfish: The Skinny on Robot Interoperability," will discuss how companies are addressing interoperability and what options are available to suppliers, end users and integrators. Attendees will learn about the history of Open-RMF (Robotics Middleware Framework), best practices for interoperation of robots from different vendors, and future interoperability trends.
NASA uses ROS in other space robots, such as Astrobee, a free-flying successor to SPHERES. Several Astrobees operate inside the ISS. The robot will help astronauts cut the time they spend on routine chores, letting them focus more on truly important tasks.
Working autonomously or under remote control by astronauts, flight controllers or researchers on the ground, the robots are designed to carry out tasks such as inventory, documenting experiments conducted by astronauts with built-in cameras, or cooperatively moving cargo around the station. In addition, the system serves as a research platform that can be equipped and programmed to run experiments in microgravity, helping to learn more about how robotics can assist astronauts in space.
Astrobee builds on the legacy and lessons learned from the SPHERES robots — short for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite — which have been aboard the station for more than a decade. Once the Astrobee system is fully operational, it will replace SPHERES as the station's robotic testbed, helping NASA explore new possibilities for journeys into space.
"In parallel with all this humanoid work, another NASA group took a different approach to building robots that will help people in space: free-flying vehicles that fly inside the ISS. Building on its earlier success with SPHERES, NASA developed the Astrobee successor. As we learned from their presentation at ROSCon in 2018, Astrobee software is built on ROS, the Astrobee team makes extensive use of Gazebo for development and testing, and they have made much of their software available on GitHub. Today several Astrobees operate on the ISS, and one was even featured in a video call between orbital astronauts and US Vice President Kamala Harris," Open Robotics said.
NASA and Open Robotics are currently working on the VIPER program. The goal of VIPER is to send a mobile robot to the Moon's South Pole in 2023. ROS 2 will be in the control loop of the rover. The program is being prepared to "get a close-up look at the location and concentration of water ice that could ultimately be harvested to support human exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond."
Open Robotics believes VIPER is just the latest in a long line of space robotics missions that rely on ROS for their autonomous software. To that end, the company is now working with Blue Origin and NASA to develop Space ROS, a variant of ROS 2 specifically designed to meet the strict verification requirements that aerospace software must undergo before being used in mission-critical applications.
The company envisions a near future in which rich, functional, and space-certified autonomy ROS 2 stacks help NASA and other agencies around the world achieve their scientific and exploration goals.
“Thank you, Open Robotics. You have changed the course of development for us at NASA”
Blue Origin recently acquired Honeybee Robotics for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in mid-February, and Honeybee Robotics will become a subsidiary of Blue Origin.
