Funding for the National Robotics Engineering Consortium (NREC) is a result of a three-way agreement between Congressman William Coyne (D-PA), former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornberg, and NASA Administrator Dan Goldin. The results of this agreement are documented in the NREC Joint Sponsored Research Agreement (JSRA) between NASA and Carnegie Mellon University which formally established the NREC. The JSRA is being administered through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and specifies a NASA investment in the NREC of $4.25M per year through FY 2001. (note: the NREC is also referenced in Items #5 and #9 below)

The Robonaut Technologies effort is a component of the External Work Systems (EWS) program, which resulted from a directive by NASA Administrator Dan Goldin to (former) Code X and Code U to develop next-generation technologies and testbeds for on-orbit EVA operations (also known as the "X-Suit Program"). When the EWS program was presented to the Administrator, he directed that we proceed with the robotic technologies component of this effort, which included the development and implementation of the projects known as AERcam and Robonaut. The AERcam effort is complete, and will be demonstrated in a flight experiment on STS-87 this month. The Robonaut task is funded through JSC at a level of $1.0M per year through 2002. (note: AERcam is also referenced in Item #5 below)

None

The "Intelligent Robotics" activity of the Telerobotics Program will be the subject of a NRA which will be issued later in FY 98. The $1.8M funding for the NRA will be handled through ARC, and will support research in intelligent robotics technologies through at least FY 2002.

The Planetary Robotics Technology elements of the 632-40 Telerobotics Program are elements of the technology requirements and development plans for the joint Space Science-HEDS Enterprise Mars Exploration Campaign, and the Telerobotics Program is committed to delivering these technologies (including mobile Mars exploration systems, planetary dexterous manipulators, robotic subsurface explorers, and virtual reality systems for planetary exploration) to this program. These technology requirements are summarized in the Science-HEDS Enterprise Mars Exploration Program Plan and Project Plan, which are currently is the loop for signature by Codes M, U, and S Associate Administrators. This totals to $3.1M in FY 98 from the Telerobotics Program split between JPL and ARC, which is leveraged against $86.2M from the Space Science Enterprise and $8.0M from the HEDS Enterprise for mission development. The Telerobotics Technology investment in this area increases to approximately $6.3M by 2000, while the Enterprise investment increases to $176.2M total.

The Ranger Telerobotics Flight Experiment has been formally endorsed by the International Space Station Program Office as a Risk Mitigation Experiment (letter signed by Associate Administrator Trafton in March, 1997) to demonstrate robotic maintenance of the Space Station and to reduce the risk of the Canadian-supplied baseline robotic maintenance operations concept for ISS. The Telerobotics Program has budgeted $4.4M for this effort in FY 98 (and a similar amount in FY 99) for experiment development and integration, which is funded through the University of Maryland and JSC. The exact funding level for the Code M participation in the project is still in negotiation, but is expected to be at a level similar to the Telerobotics Program investment (the negotiation process has not proceeded as quickly as originally planned, due to the absence of Lewis Peach).

The AERCam/Sprint flight experiment (see Item #2 above), which will fly on STS-87 in November, 1997, is the first of the AERCam series and was developed at JSC with $3.5M funding in FY 96 and FY 97. It has been officially endorsed by the International Space Station Program Office as a Risk Mitigation Experiment, and is expected to demonstrate that the addition of a free flying camera platform will provide operational advantages and reduce mission risks.

The National Robotics Engineering Consortium (see Item #1 above) was established via a Joint Sponsored Research Agreement (JSRA) between NASA, Carnegie Mellon University and several industrial partners (including Ford Motor Company, New Holland Corporation, Joy Mining Machinery, RedZone Robotics, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of State, Hyster Incorporated, etc.). The JSRA was signed for NASA by the Associate Administrator for Space Science, the NASA General Council, and the NASA Comptroller in early 1997. The JSRA is being administered through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and specifies a NASA investment in the NREC of $4.25M per year through FY 2001. The NASA funding is used to match $4.5M+ annually in industrial sponsor funding with the specific goal of transferring NASA robotics technology to American industry. In every case the NASA match is split such that roughly 2/3 goes to the NREC for project development and 1/3 to NASA centers to facilitate transfer and adaptation of technology (currently this is split between JPL and ARC, although this will change from year-to-year as the NREC project list changes).

The Lunar Rover/Antarctic MeteoRobot Field Demonstration project is the subject of an agreement between NASA Headquarters, NASA Ames Research Center, National Science Foundation, Antarctic Chilean Institute and the Chilean Air Force. This agreement is currently in the signature loop, pending completion of the NEPA statement for Antarctic deployment. The Telerobotics Program has budgeted $1.0M per year for this project, with funding and services from the other partners totaling approximately $1.0M per year. This agreement will extend through the 1999-2000 Antarctic field season, and the NASA participation is funded through ARC and Carnegie Mellon University.

The "Real-Time Learning Controllers for Enhanced Autonomy of Robotic Systems" task within the Telerobotics Program is the result of an agreement between the NASA Telerobotics Program and the National Science Foundation Information, Robotics, and Intelligent Systems (IRIS) Program. NASA and NSF have agreed to equally co-fund this research task at the University of Maryland at a level of $0.065M each for FY 96-99.

6. Are we funding any FACILITIES in FY 98 UPN 632 which have a strong reason to have "fenced" funding? What is the facility? How much is the FY 98 funding? Please do not include the cost of the people who are funded who work at the facility in the facility funding. What is the Center? Why do you feel the money needs to be fenced?

None

N/A

None

Additional politically sensitive areas supported by the program would include the baseline university research programs sponsored at Carnegie Mellon University ($0.6M), University of Maryland ($0.5M), Stanford University ($0.5M) and MIT ($0.4M). Should these basic research efforts be significantly impacted, we should expect to hear from the relevant Congressional members, including Sen. Mikulski (D-MD), Sen. Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Santorum (R-PA), Cong. Coyne (D-PA), and Cong. Morella (D-MD).

It is our belief that cancellation of funding for any parts of the NREC program (see item #1 above) that is jointly funded by NASA and the corporate sponsors will be regarded as a breach by those corporate sponsors. They consider that they have made multi-year funding commitments on the understanding that NASA has also made multi-year funding commitments. Further, many of them have begun planning and decision making based on the promise of the new technology, so their potential losses exceed the remaining committed funding levels. NASA and the NREC have pushed the advantages of automation very hard - to the point at which some of the collaborative companies are generating new product lines in anticipation of the outcome of the automation projects. NASA's cancellation of the FY 98 and beyond funding would create significant problems between NASA and the State of Pennsylvania and Congressional representatives from the states of the various partner corporations. From the program's perspective, the legal, media, and political exposure incurred by canceling NREC programs is not justified. A national spotlight is focused on the NREC activity as fostering a new American "spike" industry and a momentum has been built which will be difficult to turn without incurring a heavy cost.

Finally, there is potential political sensitivity associated with the Telerobotics Program funding for NASA participation in the U.S. FIRST robotics competition (in FY 98, this amounts to $0.21M). In recent years, NASA has been recognized as a strong supporter for this educational program, and the Telerobotics Program has been acknowledged for it's role in leading the agency participation in this effort. NASA Administrator Goldin has praised the dedication of the student participants and the Telerobotics Program sponsors, and this has been echoed by the members and parents of members of the high-school teams, and the Congressional members in whose districts the teams are located. In addition, Mr. Golden has stated that he fully supports the objectives of FIRST, and backs even greater participation in this program. Congressional interest in this part of the NASA Telerobotics Program is increasing, and plans for a events such as a "Congressional FIRST Robotics Expo" are underway. Should this be canceled, our belief is that there will be a significant reaction by the teams, their parents, their Congressional representatives, and the FIRST organization.

632-40 Program Guideline: $14.8M

NREC "Lien List" entry: $4.25M

632-40 funding not covered in items 1-9: $1.45M

Note: For technology development, we believe that the management process currently embodied by technical working groups such as the TRIWG is preferential to the classical, sequential advertisement and "peer review" (that often operates "in a vacuum") in that TRIWG provides an end to end "informed" environment that includes face to face communication among the customers that benefit from the technology developments, the managers of the telerobotics budget and tasks, and the research scientists and engineers who develop the telerobotic technologies, while conducting project and task selections in a peer-review/competitive environment.

Within the telerobotics research and development community, the TRIWG annual requirements definition; proposal solicitation, screening, and peer evaluation; and the annual reporting of the results to the TRIWG peer group is broadly known. TRIWG balances academic research, component development, and systems concept demonstrations for space telerobotics applications and for terrestrial support systems and spinoff science and commercial applications. The quality of the work resulting from the TRIWG process meets in every way the spirit of the 'broadly advertised and peer-reviewed' legislation. The products of the TRIWG process include both the physical robotic systems such as Sojourner, Dante, Nomad, AERCam Sprint, and Robonaut, as well as the superb development of our best and brightest young people who not only graduate with advanced degrees in engineering, but also practical, hands on experience in real world achievements.