Real-Time Integrated Navigation System for Planetary Exploration (RT-INSPEX)

The RT-INSPEX will directly support NASA's future missions ranging from the exploration of remote planetary surfaces (assuming very limited and time-delayed Earth-based communication) to assistive operations in man-made structures. The pervasive use of intelligent robotics with accurate navigation capabilities will enhance exploration and facilitate mapping of uncharted regions. NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers and Mars Science Laboratory rover are examples of robotic systems that can be deployed with the developed technologies. An immediate application would be the "K10" series from the NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group, but also other systems such as the Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity Mars Rovers, ATHLETE, and Robonaut 2. Parts of the technology would find use in unmanned aerial vehicles such as when VTOL flight on Mars is possible. NASA exploration missions involving Mars, small planetary bodies such as asteroids, and the moons of the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn would benefit from this system.

One of the main objectives of this SBIR is the commercialization of the research results. The RT-INSPEX is a highly useful GNSS-free robotic navigation system and therefore presents significant application potential for a wide range of non-NASA systems within both the civilian and military sectors. Examples of areas the technology would find application in include: (1) robotic supply chain logistics support; (2) GPS-free navigation for both manned and unmanned ground, air, and sea vehicles; (3) military missions involving unmanned platforms such as the XM1216 Small UGV and XM156 Class I UAV; (4) accurate floor plan mapping of GPS-denied indoor environments that pose risk for human intervention; (5) Robotic surveillance applications (ranging anywhere from large commercial facilities to dangerous battlefields); and (6) search and rescue missions (for example, in mining accidents with the leakage of poisonous gases). More »