Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!sgiblab!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!kronos.arc.nasa.gov!doctor
From: doctor@kronos.arc.nasa.gov (Terry Fong)
Subject: NASA Ames Antarctica TROV Project Status (10/15/93)
Message-ID: <1993Oct17.170933.14655@kronos.arc.nasa.gov>
Summary: status information for virtual environment teleoperations project
Keywords: virtual environments, teleoperations, Antarctica
Sender: usenet@kronos.arc.nasa.gov (usenet@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov)
Nntp-Posting-Host: tardis.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center (Information Science Division)
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1993 17:09:33 GMT
Lines: 53

Hi all,

The following is a status update on the NASA Ames Antarctica
Telepresence Remotely Operated Vehicle (TROV) Project. The project is
a remote operations experiment to test virtual environment based
teleoperations techniques in an operational environment which might be
used to remotely operate a science rover on another planet. The
principle objective of the project is to assess the capabilities of
telepresence and virtual environments for performing remote scientific
investigations. Throughout the project's duration (10/5 - 12/2), an
underwater robotic vehicle is being teleoperated under McMurdo Sound,
Antarctica from a control station is located at NASA Ames (Moffett
Field, CA).

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Status as of Fri Oct 15 15:21 (received from McMurdo Station, Antarctica)

On the positive side, the TROV is working (all functions verified) and
all shipped equipment has been found. Roxanne, however, is still
missing several networking items. Another positive is that the TROV
fish hut they are providing is big enough to launch and retrieve the
vehicle from inside. Only the vehicle umbilical cable will have to be
outside.

We are starting to move equipment out to the ice hut today, but the weather
is bad. We still have not been able to do any tests of the telecommuncations
equipment because we have to put a receiver/transmitter on the roof of the
firehouse and the winds have been too high to do that safely (30+ knot winds).
We are trying to test out the connection today but it requires working 
outside (-80F) and it may not work with the blowing snow.  We will try to 
get the connection alive Monday, but since none of the telecom equipment has
been set up yet or tested, we are very skeptical that we will be able to link
to Ames on Monday. We expect Monday to be a set up and shake out day.

The plan is for the hut to be moved out to the site Monday.  But condition 
1 weather has been forcast for today which could stop everything.  So far
the weather has been much worse than last year and is making operations 
quite difficult.  We seem to have a break right now but it may not last.

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Questions regarding the TROV project may be addressed to me via email 
(terry@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov). Please excuse sluggish responses since I
am involved in daily project operations.

Terry Fong
NASA Ames Research Center
-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
 "You do not understand anything       Terry Fong <terry@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov>
  until you understand it in more      NASA Ames, M/S 269-3, Moffett Field, CA
  than one way..." -- Marvin Minsky         (415) 604-6063, (415) 604-6081 lab
