This project focusses on the parallel implementation of algorithms for robotic sensory fusion involving the use of multiple sensors such as video, range, proximity, touch, force, and torque. The innovation in this project is the parallel multi-sensing as well as the parallel processing of sensory cues to allow fast identification of objects in realistic work spaces in order to perform authentic robotic tasks. The need for this sensory and computer technology cuts across the board of NASA activities including deployment, maintenance, and repair missions. The equipment necessary for the execution of this project is in place. The firm has recently integrated one of the largest massively parallel computers in the nation: a 1024-processor NCUBE hypercube. A versatile and complete robotic workstation equipped with all the sensors necessary for this project is available at the University of Tennessee. As a result, the chances of technical success and likelihood of commercialization of the outcome are high.
Potential Commercial Applications:Applications could result from implementation of specific sensory algorithms in a hypercube computer, a principal architecture in the field of massively parallel machines.STATUS: Phase I Only
