Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!cat.cis.Brown.EDU!agate!ames!kronos.arc.nasa.gov!doctor
From: doctor@kronos.arc.nasa.gov (Terry Fong)
Subject: Dante II - Mt. Spurr Expedition Status (18-Jul-94)
Message-ID: <1994Jul31.080203.27555@ptolemy-ethernet.arc.nasa.gov>
Summary: status information on CMU/NASA volcano robot explorer
Keywords: Dante, teleoperations, volcano, Alaska
Sender: usenet@ptolemy-ethernet.arc.nasa.gov (usenet@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov)
Nntp-Posting-Host: tardis.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Intelligent Mechanisms Group
Date: Sun, 31 Jul 1994 08:02:03 GMT
Lines: 98

The following is a status update on the Dante II project. Dante II is
an eight-legged robot (developed by the CMU Robotics Institute with
sponsorship from NASA) which is currently descending into the active
crater of Mt. Spurr, an Alaskan volcano 80 miles west of Anchorage,
Alaska. The primary objective of the Dante II project is to develop and
evaluate new techniques and technologies which can be applied to space
and planetary exploration. 

Throughout the Mt. Spurr expedition, Dante II is being remotely
operated from a base station in Anchorage using control station
software developed at CMU and NASA Ames. Live video coverage is
periodically available via NASA Select. Full mission details including
current status, real-time images/video, and technical data is available
via a WorldWideWeb server provided by the NASA Ames Intelligent
Mechanisms Group. This site can be accessed on the Internet using
information browsers such as NCSA Mosaic and the URL:

	http://maas-neotek.arc.nasa.gov/dante

Questions regarding the Dante II project may be addressed to me via email 
(terry@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov). Reponse time may be slow.

Terry Fong
NASA Ames Research Center

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Daily Report (18-Jul-1994)

Preparation for the final field test wrapped up today, as the robot
and communications system were broken down and prepared for transport
to the test site (the test was originally scheduled to begin today,
but limitations on the availability of the crane truck to transport
Dante to the test site forced the postponement of the start of the
activity until noon on Tuesday).

Before being placed on the transport pallet and powered down, the
final version of the control software, including all the modifications
and parameter settings established since shipping the system to
Anchorage, were burned into PROMs and installed on the robot.  After
spending the day validating the software configuration which was
completed yesterday, the software team burned three identical sets of
PROM versions of the software.  These were then installed in the three
M68030 processors on board the robot.  These processors control data
collection from the approximately 50 analog sensor channels,
asynchronous events such as tether control, and control of the leg
motion actuators on board Dante.

While the final software was being loaded, the communications link
from Anchorage to Washington DC was established.  While network
connectivity between the command center and the remote operations
workstation was achieved, UI2D (the "dashboard" for the robot) and
VEVI (the virtual reality model of the robot and it's environment)
could not be initially started due to a software problem on the remote
operations workstation which required several hours to identify and
correct.  However, by the end of the day the problem had been remedied
and remote observation of the robot motion and terrain surroundings
was possible (this is similar to the level of communications achieved
with Ames Research Center yesterday).  Neither of the remote
workstation sites are yet able to receive digitized video from the
robot, as the codecs are still not up and running.  In the mean time,
the workstation at the National Air & Space Museum is up and running
in the center of the main gallery floor, and should be in final
operation configuration in time for the field test.

One final modification has been made to the science package
configuration to be carried into the crater of Mt. Spurr by Dante.
Prior to the 1992 eruption of the volcano, a large lake had existed
inside the volcano crater.  The entire lake was apparently blown out
during the eruption, along with most of the southern crater wall (it
has been estimated that the 1992 eruption ejected almost 0.1 cubic
kilometers of material into the atmosphere; in comparison, Mt.
St. Helens ejected approximately 0.4 cubic kilometers during its
eruption).  Since then, the reformed crater has not held any visible
collection of water.  However, based on the observations of the recon
teams and studies of photographs taken during the recent crater
visits, it is being speculated that the crater lake may be reforming,
hidden beneath the steam at the bottom of the crater.  In the event
that the lake is reforming, the team was asked about installing a
water sampling device on Dante.

In the finest spirit of "faster, cheaper, better" science instrument
development, a water sample acquisition container was developed and
installed on Dante's left front leg earlier in the day.  The
container, a 1-liter bottle with a one-way valve to allow water to
enter and be preserved, was designed and fabricated in about two
hours.  It was made of an odd assortment of parts, including a plastic
distilled water bottle, a plumbing fixture, a kitchen strainer, a
vacuum cleaner hose adapter, and the wooden ball from the end of a
light cord.  After a quick test in a local sink, the container was
dried and installed on the leg.

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-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 "Every once in a while declare        Terry Fong <terry@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov>
  peace. It confuses the hell out      NASA Ames, M/S 269-3, Moffett Field, CA
  of your enemies" -- Rule of Acq. #76      (415) 604-6063, (415) 604-6081 lab
