Robotic, Efficient Arm for Cargo Handling

Currently NASA has a limited selection of very expensive flight robotic manipulators. Meanwhile, cost-effective, high-performance robot manipulators have become ubiquitous in labs and commercial spaces. NASA needs the best technologies to return to the Moon and ultimately Mars. This requires leveraging existing, de-risked terrestrial technology. This proposed work effort will characterize and validate Apptronik’s novel Scorpio robotic manipulator technology to show its effectiveness for NASA applications. For NASA, the bottom line is a versatile, robust, and cost-effective solution to manipulate payloads off-planet for 1/10 the lift weight. Apptronik’s transformative approach to manipulation led to the development of Scorpio - a robotic arm that lifts roughly what it weighs, a ten-fold improvement over traditional arms. The basic concept uses a spring element to compensate for gravity which accounts for the greater part of typical power draw. A Scorpio-style arm then only draws power for “floating” a payload in x and y axes. Apptronik’s patents and key innovations center on rapidly compensating the spring element and a novel codebase needed to control the behavior of a manipulator with such distinct kinematics. Reducing the need to have gear boxes and high voltage electricity to fight gravity results in a much lighter manipulator. This lighter frame has several positive benefits: • Energy efficient, running off less than 50VDC • Works collaboratively with people, since it can stop faster and with less impact force • Highly mobile, with its light weight and minimal power requirements • Durable, rethinking older “spring lamp” technology with inherent robustness • Lower cost, designed to address real-world unstructured spaces instead of pristine factory floors