To study life in the Mars-like Atacama Desert of Chile we have created a robot, Zoë, and conducted three seasons of technical and scientific experiments. We describe Zoë’s exploration algorithms and architecture and assess a total of six months of long distance survey traverses. To date Zoë has navigated autonomously over 250 km. Its average distance per autonomous traverse is 672 m with 75 tra...

Mowing a lawn can be a difficult and tedious chore. The goal of this paper is to introduce the idea of using the visual property of texture to design an autonomous lawnmower robot that mows a lawn similar to how a human would (in some type of pattern.) Previous autonomous lawnmowers that have been designed, the LawnNibbler and LawnShark for example, rely on the principle of randomness to mow in...

We propose economically autonomous behavior as a novel goal for robotic systems. Currently examples of robotic autonomy are often limited to restricted physical environments such as a factory or road. In this paper we instead restrict the notion of autonomy to a social environment: the economy. We define economically autonomous behavior and describe different levels of independence culminating ...

Robotic operations performed in earth orbit face unique challenges. In the case of the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), a two-armed robotic device, operations can last multiple orbital days, with dynamic sunlit days and very dark nights. Direct and indirect visibility can be difficult. This project developed and tested the use of augmented reality technology with a ground based tra...

Robotic missions beyond 2013 will likely be precursors to a manned habitat deployment on Mars. Such missions require robust control systems for long duration activities. Current single rover missions will evolve into deployment of multiple, heterogeneous cooperating robotic colonies. This paper describes the map-making memory and action selection mechanism of BISMARC (Biologically Inspired Syst...

With the robotic exploration of the Solar System well underway, a logical next step is the development of spacecraft capable of exploring the regions beyond the orbit of Pluto (e.g., the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud), or capable of exploring in situ the nearer extra-solar planetary systems. Barring unforeseen advances in propulsion and communications technologies, the mission times for such v...

Robotic animals are regularly used in behavioral experiments, typically in experimental interactions with individuals of the species they were modelled on. In order to do so successfully, these robots need to be designed carefully, taking into consideration the specific perceptual system of the model species. We used marker-based motion capture to measure head bobbing in a widely popular lizard...

The goal of the SmartWheeler project is to increase the autonomy and safety of individuals with severe mobility impairments by developing a robotic wheelchair that is adapted to their needs. The platform we have built also serves as a test-bed for validating novel concepts and algorithms for automated decision-making onboard socially assistive robots.