>> Early today as we mentioned,
space station commander Kevin Ford was at work
in the Destiny Laboratory.
He powered up the Robonaut experiment and set
up the cameras so we could record Robonaut's actions during
ground commanded activities.
That's got started on- board the station last year.
This experiment is ongoing.
Right now Ford is disassembling Robonaut and preparing
to stow it before its next work session.
In order to learn more about this robot and its work
on the station, I'm joined here
in the flight control room this morning by Dr. Ron Diffler.
He is the Robonaut project lead based here
at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Good morning.
Thanks for being here.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Well, thank you Pat.
>> How and when did you become involved
in the Robonaut project?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: I started in the late 1990s.
My first job was actually working on the design
of the form and the hand.
After we completed the design of it, I worked quite a bit
on the control system.
Later on the project I became the hand subsystem lead then
moved on to become first deputy project lead
and the project lead in the early 2000s.
>> When did the design really get started?
>> Well, that was for the first Robonaut, Robonaut 1,
which is not in space.
It was a prototype for the ground.
We started working on Robonaut 2 in 2007.
That was the beginning of our partnership with General Motors.
>> Just to give a sense of how long it sometimes take s
for these things to develop.
How was a partnership
with General Motors helped in the development?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Oh, it's been an excellent partnership.
It's allowed us to combine our resources with General Motors
to build a better Robonaut system.
The one that we have in space
that we could have done independently.
By pulling our resources, we took advantage of that.
The skills in both areas.
And it allowed us to produce a system that's been doing very
well on orbit.
>> How would you describe the overall goals of this project?
What are you trying to accomplish
with the Robonaut in space?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Well, our goals provide another tool
for the space station community.
As my boss likes to say, another pair of hands to help
out on-board the space station.
We have the Robonaut up there right now,
and as a fixed system on a stanchion.
Just an upper body.
And we're going through a variety of tests to verify
that it can perform the way we expect it to do.
To do many of the tasks that it was able to do on the ground.
This is all a precursor for later having the robot go mobile
and helping inside the space station.
>> But how has it gone so far?
[inaudible]
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: It's gone very well.
We -- as you mentioned it was sent up there in 2011
and actually -- I'm sorry -- 2011.
We've been working with it now on space station
for a little more than a year.
We went through checkout, which went very well.
We have completed three space tasks.
We've done our first interaction with the crew.
Human robot interaction, which is a big thing for us.
We've been working on the task panel some
of which you saw that activity today.
We've also had a chance to work with our first tool on station.
Actually an air flow meter.
With that device, we're able to send back data
that normally isn't received on the ground.
Which is a great thing to help
out providing even more information back to the crew,
back to the support personnel that are helping the crew
to perform their tasks in space.
>> What was the task with the air flow meter?
What did Robonaut have to actually do?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Well,
normally a few times a year the crew uses a wand and a meter,
and they measure the air flow coming out through the vents
in various parts of the space station.
Actually a perfect job for a robot.
Nothing can hold something still better
than a robot as you might expect.
In this case, we had the robot hold the wand and the meter.
And what was unique about this particular situation,
is that normally the crew averages out the values they see
on the meter and then sends down a few numbers to the ground.
Here the people on the ground were able to look
through the robot's eyes using the robot's camera system
and see real-time data coming through the air vents.
And that was really cool because that was data they had never
seen before.
>> We've seen video of where today and yesterday
of the view from Robonaut's eye.
Is the point of that to allow the ground
to see what Robonaut sees?
Or is it registering data that's recorded itself?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Well,
there's actually multiple cameras systems.
The ones we're seeing on the ground right now are the ones
that we would use when a person directly controls the robot.
That can be done a couple of different ways.
On the ground we are performing experiments,
and people on the ground can see the robot perform their tasks
with real-time data.
And of course, that allows for a more expedited task.
Also, when the crew will
in the future don what we call teleoperation gear.
They wear a variety of gloves and other sensors.
And as they move around the robot,
we'll track their position.
When they're doing that, they'll be able to put
on a helmet-like device, and they'll see
through those same robot eyes.
They can have a good perspective
as they're performing tasks basically made into the robot.
>> They're controlling the robot's actions
with their own actions.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: That's correct.
>> That sounds like that would have application
for using it anywhere in the station or outside the station.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Actually that's the biggest value will be
when we have the crew person controlling the robot directly
when the robot is on the outside of the station,
which is something we're planning in the future.
We'll do experiments inside the station
where we'll practice this technique.
Where the human and the --
the crew person and the robot are right near each other.
As we develop that and be sure that it works well
in the zero G environment.
>> The development is being done in small steps.
Because you said you've been working on it for years.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: A little more than a year.
And we've been increasing the difficulty
of the tasks essentially.
We've been adding to the capability of the robot
over time by trying out different subsystems.
Initially, we were just controlling it and having it go
to predefined positions.
Today's experiment, as a matter of fact, involved the use
of machine [inaudible].
We are using the robot.
Other set of cameras, machine vision cameras,
to find locations where objects are.
And the robot drives its hand to those locations.
We're doing initial work with that right now to calibrate
and verify the vision system is working properly
and adjust it accordingly.
Later we'll incorporate that machine vision technology
and the robot will do tasks in a more automated fashion using
that sensor information coming from the cameras.
>> And I think that that sounds like it --
the Robonaut would be able to be a lot more useful to the crew
if it could perform automated tasks.
They'd be given tasks and allowed
to go about it's business.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Absolutely.
We see a progression.
Right now we're controlling many of the motions
in a very definitive manner.
Controlling each part of the task very precisely.
We later expect to go to a more semiautonomous mode
where the ground personnel would be doing more supervision.
And then as time goes on and we gain more confidence
in the system and everything is proven out,
we go to even more autonomous type mode.
Where there'd be less supervision from the ground.
>> Why is the Robonaut only an upper body right now?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Well, when we first started our work
with General Motors, our focus was on manipulation.
The ability to perform tasks
that currently only humans can perform.
So we start working with that part of the body that's involved
in those types of tasks.
The upper body -- arms, hands, a head.
To have sensor systems in it
so that you can see what you're doing.
Now, we're looking towards the future
where we'll need to go mobile.
If we're going to be helping the crew both inside
and outside the space station, we need that mobility.
We're working on a pair of what we call "climbing legs."
Which will -- we'll add to the upper body of the robot
and allow it to move throughout the inside of station initially
and then eventually outside the station.
And perform the kinds of tasks that we're testing
out capabilities for right now on our task board
and with the tools I mentioned earlier.
>> It occurred to me that if it had legs you could probably make
it walk.
You just couldn't keep it on the ground.
Couldn't keep it down on the floor of the station.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: And that's why we call these
"climbing legs."
Because our protocol will be that we will be move
from one fixed location to another.
The robot will always have one leg in contact
so that it will be grounded as it's performing its task.
>> Looking ahead, what's the next step or the next couple
of steps in the development in the testing?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: Well, we're continuing to work
with our task board integrating first our vision data.
Some of which we're working on today.
We'll be adding more force information
to performing our tasks.
Just like a human, we use a variety of sensor information
to perform our tasks -- vision, force data [inaudible].
Testing out those capabilities on the robot.
We'll be adding more tools to our repertoire.
We hope to be using a tether hook.
That's our early practice when we go EDA.
Then, of course, we'll be sending up the legs
and then a battery backpack so we can be untethered
and start moving in the station.
We expect to send those up in the later part of 2013
and start performing our first tests in early 2014.
The robot checking out its lower body and starting
to move throughout the space station.
>> Awkward.
It was becoming self-aware and discovering it's own self.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: It'll be --
we'll be working with it to checkout to be sure
that all the new parts we're sending up work well.
But right now its conscious is pretty much limited
to what we tell it to do.
>> You given any thought to giving it a voice?
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: We haven't actually.
As a matter of fact, when you're wearing the teleoperation gear,
which I mentioned earlier, and you're wearing the helmet,
you'll also have a microphone.
This allows the person, the crew person,
to command the robot to change mode.
For example, if they're performing a task and they want
to rest, they can tell the robot to freeze its limbs.
And the robot's limbs will start moving
and the crew person can stop.
So we do have a voice interaction system integrated,
but we only use it right now when we're doing teleoperation.
>> So the look ahead then it may be this time next year
or roughly, where we could see it really interacting
with the crew members and performing tasks.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: We'll definitely see it starting
to take its first steps in that climbing process I mentioned.
>> Ron, it's fascinating, and it's great to watch.
And I really appreciate you're helping get us up to speed
on what's going on with it.
Thank you very much.
>> Dr. Ron Diffler: My pleasure.
>> Ron Diffler is the -- Dr. Ron Diffler is the Robonaut project
lead based here at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
[Silence]