Autonomous Command Generation for Robots

Cybernet developed an autonomous control methodology for an extravehicular robot (EVR). A highly intelligent controller was built that can control toolpath motion (or other robotic actions) autonomously, allowing the mission specialist to interact seamlessly with the robot during EV maneuvers. To define robotic motion autonomously, a 2D path and endpoint problem is translated into one that operates in a fully 3D world. This means that endpoints must be generalized to 3D positions and orientations (6 degrees of freedom (6DOF)). Particularly important is to allow the commands to be issued in a manner that is consistent with the task's level of autonomy. A combination of video camera inputs and high level command methods were demonstrated.