NASA Collaboration Advances Robotics for Moon Missions and Earth Industries

NASA is collaborating with a Boulder, Colorado-based robotics company to advance robotic intelligence for future long-term missions on the Moon. The agency plans to deploy robots for routine tasks, allowing crew members to dedicate more time to scientific research and exploration. This initiative aims to overcome complex challenges in robotic motion control, including decision-making and object recognition.

PickNik Inc. recently partnered with Shaun Azimi, who leads the Dexterous Robotics team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, alongside other agency roboticists. Their collaboration focused on testing software designed to enable a robotic arm to perform intricate operations. These tests, conducted in NASA Johnson’s Integrated Mobile Evaluation Testbed for Robotics Operations, involved a robotic arm recognizing and opening a spacecraft hatch, grasping its handle, and then transferring cargo bags between the hatch and a storage bin. The project received funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program.

The robotic control software, named MoveIt Pro, was designed and refined by PickNik with support from early government investments. Commercially released in 2023, MoveIt Pro has since garnered a substantial customer base, extending its applications beyond space exploration into various commercial sectors.

Automotive manufacturer BMW has integrated MoveIt Pro into its robotic assembly lines. The software also aids Lightspeed in programming large robotic arms that construct modular panels for affordable housing. Additionally, Hivebotics has utilized MoveIt Pro to automate its flagship product, a cleaning robot, enhancing its operational capabilities.

Ezra Brooks, principal software engineer at the 35-person PickNik company, noted that the product might not have been realized without NASA’s early support. Developing advanced robotic software requires years of research and development to refine algorithms and prepare a commercial product, much of which was facilitated by NASA's foundational work. NASA's technological advancements not only unlock key capabilities for missions to the Moon and beyond but also deliver significant benefits to commercial industries on Earth.

According to NASA Breaking News, the agency has documented the everyday benefits of space technology for 50 years through its Spinoff publication.