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ESDMD #0501: Robotic Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair

Robots that inspect, maintain and repair in-space and surface systems when crew are absent, so crew time goes to science and exploration (bin 4, rating 36 of 57). On Shuttle and ISS crew did this work by hand. Mars rovers and the Ingenuity helicopter have done autonomous inspection with cameras. The gap has no child gaps of its own: all four are starred child gaps borrowed from #0806 and #1001 (Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0501).

Quotations below are from row ESDMD #0501 of the tech gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix D prints the same table for this gap, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 224).

Description

"As in-space and surface systems and infrastructure are deployed, there is a need to develop technologies and capabilities that enable inspection, maintenance, and repair (IM&R) activities without undue reliance on crew time or the built-in assumption of crew presence and availability. Robotic systems are needed that can perform IM&R activities in the absence of crew to maximize available time for crew science and exploration priorities. This includes the maturation of robotic systems with the necessary manipulation capabilities and the design and integration of interfaces suited for robotic IM&R. Aspects of task performance include procedures; the equipment, tools, and materials needed to restore functional integrity; troubleshooting; gaining access; replacement; reservicing/retesting; and system closeout."

Impacts and benefits: "Closing this gap helps assure in-space and surface assets remain available to achieve mission objectives."

Current state of the art

"IM&R tasks performed manually by crew on Shuttle and ISS. Four Mars science rovers (Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance) have performed autonomous robotic inspection utilizing cameras and perception software. Ingenuity helicopter performed autonomous aerial photography inspection of Perseverance rover, as well as terrain and landing spot inspection."

Performance target

  • Moon/Mars: "Improved system availability (reliability, maintainability, supportability) as well as safety."
  • Mars: "In addition, increased autonomy and reliability compared to the lunar performance target."

Child gaps

  • 0806-01*: Affordance recognition, grasp planning, and execution for autonomous object and interface manipulation
  • 1001-01*: Robust robotic sensors
  • 1001-02*: Adaptable robotic end effectors for fine grasping and manipulation
  • 1001-03*: Efficient autonomous object detection, classification, and pose estimation

All four also appear under #0806 or #1001, and under #0504; 0806-01 also under #0505. The asterisk marks "a child gap with multiple parents" (ADD Rev C, p. 199).

Traceability

  • Use cases and functions: UC-A-105 L -- FN-A-201 L; UC-G-401 M -- All FN; UC-G-402 M -- All FN; UC-A-104 M -- FN-A-106 M; UC-A-107 M -- All FN
  • Definition tasks: Mars: Priorities for Crew vs. Robotic Tasks Strategy
  • Cross-reference: FN-A-201 L, "Control robotic system(s) in sunlit areas and non-PSRs on the lunar surface from Earth", is also one of the Users Guide's Phase 1 functional gaps (Users Guide, p. 8; see Phase 1 functional gaps). This link joins the two sources; neither makes it. FN-A-201 L also appears under #0805, with a different use case (UC-A-201 L).

Segments and sub-architectures

Priority

Priority bin 4, overall prioritization rating 36 of 57. It is the last gap in bin 4. The rating is "the gap's location in the prioritized list of gaps", so 1 is the highest priority, and bins group gaps of similar priority, bin 1 highest. Criticality, urgency, breadth and depth set the order; cost is not considered (ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199; method on the gaps index).

Moon Base relevance

Not established by the sources so far. The Users Guide does not name #0501 among its near-term Moon Base challenges (Technology and knowledge challenges). The function cross-reference under Traceability is a link between sources, not a mapping either source makes.

Sources

Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0501 · ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199, 224 · Users Guide, p. 8