Autonomous Dexterous Sampling: From the Arctic Ocean to Mars and Beyond

This paper details the engineering development and testing of the SAMURAI manipulator and AVATAR autonomous vision system. A number of developmental challenges were met and overcome, including severe limits on in-water weight and power available from the carrier AUV, selecting sensors for actuator positional feedback capable of operating at pressures up to 8000 psi, and keeping the system robust enough to survive the rough handling expected on shipboard. Extensive use was made of technologies developed for space flight in the SSL's Ranger Telerobotic Shuttle Experiment, leading to the first-ever use of distributed "intelligent" actuator modules and a modular manipulator design for underwater applications. Although external events prevented the planned sea trials in 2006, work is ongoing to integrate SAMURAI/AVATAR to various undersea vehicles for operational use. This paper further discusses potential applications of the SAMURAI/AVATAR architectures and technologies to planetary exploration tasks beyond those of Europa-type oceans. Extensions of the Arctic sampling system would enable a number of high-priority near-term objectives in planetary exploration, most specifically a Mars sample collection and return mission.