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 (10/19/93)
Message-ID: <1993Oct20.054924.24307@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 (Intelligent Mechanisms Group)
Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1993 05:49:24 GMT
Lines: 47

The following is a status update on the NASA Ames Antarctica
Telepresence Remotely Operated Vehicle (TROV) Project. The principle
objective of the project is to assess the capabilities of telepresence
and virtual environments for performing remote scientific field work.
Throughout the project's duration (10/5-12/2), an underwater telerobotic
vehicle is being operated under McMurdo Sound, Antarctica from a
control station is located at NASA Ames (Moffett Field, CA).
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The weather has cleared up considerably. Over the weekend, a portable
"fish hut" has been setup on the ice and the TROV equipment moved from
Crary Lab to the hut. On 10/17, Jay & Roxanne established a data
network connection between the hut and NASA Ames. Terry was able to
telnet to the TROV vehicle controller (68030 CPU running VxWorks) from
Ames and verify the link. The data network is as follows:

 - fish hut (McMurdo Sound) to McMurdo Station communications building
   via microwave ethernet bridge
 - comm. building to Black Island via microwave link
 - Black Island to Vallejo, CA ground station via Intelsat link
 - Vallejo, CA to NASA Ames via T1 ground lines

This network has a round-trip delay of 0.7 seconds (determined via
ICMP packet "ping").

On the following day (10/18), video transmissions were established
from the fish hut. The video communications are similiar to the data
network, but uses a line-of-sight IR laser from the hut to the
McMurdo comm building for the initial link. In addition, the video is
compressed before satellite uplink and uncompressed after reception at
Ames. 

Over the next two days, the team will be verifying subsystems
operation and begin local training for a human factors experiment.

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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
