Lunar Automatic Tool Changer and Holder (LATCH)

Motiv Space Systems, Inc. (quot;Motivquot;) is proposing a new design for a contamination tolerantnbsp;tool-changer for use on lunar and other off-Earth missions that employ a robotic arm with a modest complexity end-effector payload (i.e., not an MSL-class payload). Past missions such as Phoenix and InSightnbsp;are examples of missions with robotic arms that in retrospect couldnbsp;accommodate such a tool-changer. Future missions with a similar class of robotic arms include the lunar COLDArm, a Technology Payload for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) suite of mission opportunities,nbsp;and exploratory missions to the surfaces of the Ocean Worlds, comets, and asteroids. For these missions, anbsp;tool-changer would enable the robotic arm to perform a more complicated suite of activities such as scooping, gripping,nbsp;grinding, and debris removal, all using separate tools that arenbsp;swapped onto the arm as needed. This SBIR addresses a major problem with tool-changing mechanism designs in general, in that they are comprised of mechanical and electrical coupling elements that are sensitive to contamination. Contamination can result in failure to couplenbsp;or jamming upon release, along with intermittent or broken electrical continuity. Because robotic arm end-effectors are likely to interact with the surface (and subsurface) ofnbsp;the Moon, Mars, or other planetary bodies, contamination problems arenbsp;inevitable, the Moon in particular because the regolith particles are small, sharp, and prone to attachment because of the Moon#39;s static electricity buildup. Motiv#39;s tool-changer design will allow contamination to collect on mechanical and electrical coupling features and surfaces, but not preclude normal functioning of the tool-changer beyond some loss of positional repeatability when the various tools are exchanged. Electrical functionality will be preserved via self-cleaning of the electrical contacts during the tool exchange cycles