Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!sgiblab!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uchinews!raistlin!uc.msc.edu!apctrc!hawkings!emes114!zjoc01
From: zjoc01@hou.amoco.com (Jack Coats)
Subject: Re: Distance to Mars
Message-ID: <1993Jun15.202424.21414@amoco.com>
Sender: news@amoco.com
Reply-To: zjoc01@hou.amoco.com
Organization: Amoco
References: <1vkvhn$606@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 20:24:24 GMT
Lines: 47

In article 606@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov, gat@robotics.jpl.nasa.gov (Erann Gat) writes:
>>In article <1993Jun15.141843.17734@mksol.dseg.ti.com> strohm@mksol.dseg.ti.com (john r strohm) writes:
>>
>>[Stuff deleted]
>>
>>>Highly autonomous robotics, as you suggest, is one possible path.  Virtual
>>>reality on Earth, high-bandwidth link to the robot, robot compares virtual
>>>scenario with real scenario, does as ordered if they agree and waves a flag
>>>if they don't, is another.  [ Pournelle has written about this technology
>>>on a couple of occasions that I know of. ]  Putting a manned control station
>>>in Mars orbit is a third possible solution.
>>>
>>>That third solution, of course, is HIGHLY Politically Incorrect.  :-)
>>
>>That depends on where you live.  Here at JPL it's impolitically correct,
>>but I suspect that at the Johnson Space Center their attitude would be
>>rather different.
>>
>>There was a hot debate over the relative merits of your first and second
>>options here at JPL about a year or two ago, and the solution that was
>>finally settled on was somewhere in between.  The robot is sent commands
>>which permit it some, but not unlimited, freedom in choosing its own
>>actions according to the situation it finds itself in.  The problem with
>>the VR solution in its strictest sense is that something will almost always
>>happen slightly differently in the real situation than in the simulation.
>>However, most of these deviations are benign and do not require the robot
>>to immediately stop and "wave the flag" as you put it.  Because sending
>>commands is expensive, the trend has been to push the robots as far
>>towards the autonomous side of the spectrum as possible without sacrificing
>>safety.
>>
>>Erann Gat
>>gat@robotics.jpl.nasa.gov
>>"All extreme positions are wrong."

Where's the holo-deck when you need it?  But in the mean time, the VR simulation
and mostly autonimous operation sounds reasonable.  This would also allow fewer
persons to operate more remote vehicles if it turns out to be PC to send some
to orbit or even land in the vacinity of the robots sometime in the future.

I can just see it now, having a lonely Maytag Robot Repair`person' waiting on
Mars for something to do!

---
-- 
                         Ideas: mine              LawyerSpeak: theirs

