{"projectId":91524,"project":{"projectId":91524,"title":"MoBall: An Energy-Harvesting & Self-Propelling Spherical Sensor Platform","startDate":"2015-08-01","startYear":2015,"startMonth":8,"endDate":"2018-06-15","endYear":2018,"endMonth":6,"programId":69,"program":{"ableToSelect":false,"acronym":"STRG","isActive":true,"description":"<p> \tThe Space Technology Research Grants Program will accelerate the development of &quot;push&quot; technologies to support the future space science and exploration needs of NASA, other government agencies and the commercial space sector. Innovative efforts with high risk and high payoff will be encouraged. The program is composed of two competitively awarded components.</p> ","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":69,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36658,"title":"Space Technology Research Grants","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"STRG"},"description":"There are many harsh, windy environments where a persistent in situ mobile sensor network could provide valuable data to help answer outstanding questions in the planetary sciences. On Earth, a network of distributed mobile sensors capable of energy-harvesting can provide the spatial resolutions and mission durations necessary to capture the seasonal environmental characteristics of the Arctic and Antarctic in a cost-effective manner. However, it is not possible to power these sensors using solar energy in the long dark polar winters. Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan, are also environments where a distributed mobile sensor network could enhance understanding of geology and climate. Similar to the Polar Regions, solar power cannot always be relied upon on Mars or Titan but surface winds are consistent.   MoBall is a mobile sensor platform that harvests wind-energy and generates self-propulsion, and it is a candidate for deployment in the above environments. A unique electromechanical apparatus uses solenoids to harvest kinetic energy of permanent magnets as they slide freely within MoBall during wind-driven motion. The same apparatus generates self-propulsion by adjusting the magnet positions via powered solenoids, manipulating the position of the center of mass, and achieving motion from rest or biased steering. Each ball is outfitted with low-mass, low-power sensors and electronics for peer-to-peer and satellite data transmission. Teams of MoBalls will be deployed cooperatively with other in situ assets, forming a distributed sensing network over a large spatial domain. The innovative merging of energy-harvesting and mobility into a single sensor platform increases network flexibility, productivity, and lifespan.   The objectives of this grant include (i) To validate self-propulsion from rest and biased steering through a series of prototypes and field tests, (ii) To employ optimal control techniques that intelligently toggle between energy-harvesting and control modes while executing basic maneuvers, and (iii) To outfit MoBall with scientifically-relevant sensors and assess the total energy budget, data transmission, science gathering capability, and environmental survivability. Achievement of the above objectives will likely entail academic contributions to switched hybrid optimal control theory and nonholonomic mechanics with Lagrangian symmetries. In addition, the development of MoBall’s mechanical and electrical systems are novel engineering contributions that may be applicable to other robots and NASA assets.","benefits":"There are many harsh, windy environments where a persistent in situ mobile sensor network could provide valuable data to help answer outstanding questions in the planetary sciences. 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Innovative efforts with high risk and high payoff will be encouraged. The program is composed of two competitively awarded components.</p> ","parentProgram":{"ableToSelect":false,"isActive":true,"description":"Catalyst is a portfolio of early stage programs that specialize in different innovation constituencies and mechanisms to push the state of the art in aerospace technology development","programId":92327,"responsibleMd":{"canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":""},"title":"Catalyst","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"Catalyst"},"parentProgramId":92327,"programId":69,"responsibleMd":{"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","acronym":"STMD","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","canUserEdit":false,"locationEdit":false,"organizationRolePretty":"","organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdOffice":4875,"stockImageFileId":36658,"title":"Space Technology Research Grants","manageGaps":false,"acronymOrTitle":"STRG"},"description":"There are many harsh, windy environments where a persistent in situ mobile sensor network could provide valuable data to help answer outstanding questions in the planetary sciences. On Earth, a network of distributed mobile sensors capable of energy-harvesting can provide the spatial resolutions and mission durations necessary to capture the seasonal environmental characteristics of the Arctic and Antarctic in a cost-effective manner. However, it is not possible to power these sensors using solar energy in the long dark polar winters. Mars, and Saturn's moon Titan, are also environments where a distributed mobile sensor network could enhance understanding of geology and climate. Similar to the Polar Regions, solar power cannot always be relied upon on Mars or Titan but surface winds are consistent.   MoBall is a mobile sensor platform that harvests wind-energy and generates self-propulsion, and it is a candidate for deployment in the above environments. A unique electromechanical apparatus uses solenoids to harvest kinetic energy of permanent magnets as they slide freely within MoBall during wind-driven motion. The same apparatus generates self-propulsion by adjusting the magnet positions via powered solenoids, manipulating the position of the center of mass, and achieving motion from rest or biased steering. Each ball is outfitted with low-mass, low-power sensors and electronics for peer-to-peer and satellite data transmission. Teams of MoBalls will be deployed cooperatively with other in situ assets, forming a distributed sensing network over a large spatial domain. The innovative merging of energy-harvesting and mobility into a single sensor platform increases network flexibility, productivity, and lifespan.   The objectives of this grant include (i) To validate self-propulsion from rest and biased steering through a series of prototypes and field tests, (ii) To employ optimal control techniques that intelligently toggle between energy-harvesting and control modes while executing basic maneuvers, and (iii) To outfit MoBall with scientifically-relevant sensors and assess the total energy budget, data transmission, science gathering capability, and environmental survivability. Achievement of the above objectives will likely entail academic contributions to switched hybrid optimal control theory and nonholonomic mechanics with Lagrangian symmetries. In addition, the development of MoBall’s mechanical and electrical systems are novel engineering contributions that may be applicable to other robots and NASA assets.","benefits":"There are many harsh, windy environments where a persistent in situ mobile sensor network could provide valuable data to help answer outstanding questions in the planetary sciences. The innovative merging of energy-harvesting and mobility into a single sensor platform increases network flexibility, productivity, and lifespan.","releaseStatus":"Released","status":"Completed","destinationType":["Mars","Earth","Others_Inside_the_Solar_System"],"trlBegin":2,"trlCurrent":3,"trlEnd":3,"favorited":false,"detailedFunding":false,"programContacts":[],"endDateString":"Jun 2018","startDateString":"Aug 2015"},"technologyOutcomeDate":"2018-06-15","technologyOutcomePath":"Closed_Out","details":"An energy-harvesting and self-propelled spherical sensor platform named Moball was developed during the course of this grant. Major objectives of this research included the creation of a high-fidelity dynamic model, controllability analysis, motion-controllers, and motion-planning algorithms in preparation for the future deployment of Moball. Solutions to each major objective were validated in simulation or through prototype field tests.  The research in this grant extends the state-of-the-art of the modeling and control of spherical robotic vehicles. In particular, a novel framework was developed to easily model a generic spherical vehicle rolling over arbitrary smooth terrain. This dynamic framework applies to any Lagrangian system with a broken symmetry, which occurs when the invariant set of the system’s potential energy is a subset of the kinetic energy’s invariant set. The equations of motion provided by this framework are global and do not require a parameterization of the vehicle’s orientation, e.g. there are no Euler angles, quaternions, etc. required in the governing equations. Perhaps more importantly, this dynamic framework provides unique insights into the controllability properties of spherical vehicles on smooth terrain. Small time local controllability (STLC) results were developed from these equations for any spherical vehicle on smooth terrain. The STLC results are particularly easy to query, as the user must only provide the system’s kinetic and potential energy. This research also introduces generic feedback controllers, which can be used to guide spherical vehicles along arbitrary paths on the terrain. Lastly, a motion planning framework was created that selects a path through an operational environment while maximizing energy-harvested, and which is applicable to any energy-harvesting spherical vehicle.","infoText":"Closed out","infoTextExtra":"Project closed out","isIndirect":false,"infusionPretty":"","isBiDirectional":false,"technologyOutcomeDateString":"Jun 2018","technologyOutcomeDateFullString":"June 2018","technologyOutcomePartnerPretty":"","technologyOutcomePathPretty":"Closed Out","technologyOutcomeRationalePretty":""}],"libraryItems":[{"files":[],"libraryItemId":364247,"title":"Project Website","libraryItemType":"Link","url":"https://www.nasa.gov/strg#.VQb6T0jJzyE","projectId":91524,"internalOnly":false,"publishedDateString":"","entryDateString":"01/22/25 01:10 AM","libraryItemTypePretty":"Link","modifiedDateString":"10/25/24 02:23 PM"}],"states":[{"abbreviation":"CA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"California","stateTerritoryId":59,"isTerritory":false}],"endDateString":"Jun 2018","startDateString":"Aug 2015"}}