TETHERS UNLIMITED, INC. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: Z5

Description

Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) proposes to develop the ldquo;ARTIErdquo;, an androgynous robotic tool-change interface for hard and soft capture of tools and infrastructure support for robotic assets on the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. ARTIE serves as a miniaturized power and data grapple interface for use on robotic assets, such as TUIrsquo;s KRAKEN robotic manipulator and NASArsquo;s Astrobee. A Gateway version of Astrobee and KRAKEN can share tools and payloads with other assets for more efficient use of Gateway resources. The androgynous nature of ARTIE will allow the same interface to be used throughout the Gateway as an infrastructural element. ARTIE can also serve Astrobee docking, support of a Gateway KRAKEN for base mounting and inch-worming, and dynamic reconfigurability of all Gateway robotic assets. The low-profile nature of ARTIE also reduces the cost and overhead of including soft-capture fixtures on payloads tools and infrastructural elements where autonomous support is anticipated. In the Phase I effort, a proof of concept mechanism will be built and demonstrated to establish the feasibility of a small form-factor androgynous hard and soft capture connector, maturing the TRL to 4. In Phase II, the design will be implemented as an Astrobee payload for functional testing on the ISS.