Astrobee-ARK

Facility Description

Astrobee consists of three self-contained, cube-shaped, free-flying robots and a docking station. The robots are autonomous free fliers powered by fans and operate using vision-based navigations. They are operated remotely from the ground and have access to the entire U.S. Operating Segment (USOS) of the ISSInternational Space Station. The three Astrobee robots are named Honey, Bumble, and Queen.

The autonomous Astrobee robots are designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. to assist astronauts with routine duties. The robots also give ground operators additional eyes and ears on the space station, perform crew monitoring, conduct sampling, perform logistics management, and can accommodate up to three investigations. The Astrobee facility has enabled technology investigations that test computer vision, robotic manipulation, control algorithms, and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).