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June 2021
Advancing Space Exploration Using Multi-Robot Systems and Swarms and The Solar-Powered Lunar Ark Concept
FREE and OPEN to ALL. Junior Academy members, middle and high school students welcome and encouraged to attend. Space is limited. Registration required. CLICK the orange Event Information button below to REGISTER! Zoom link to join sent with confirmation email immediately after registering.
Featured Scientist: Jekan Thanga, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Space and Terrestrial Robotic Exploration (SpaceTREx) Laboratory, Asteroid Science, Technology and Exploration Research Organized by Inclusive eDucation Systems (ASTEROIDS) Laboratory, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, The University of Arizona
The exploration and development of Cislunar Space and beyond will be pivotal in securing and sustaining human civilization in the centuries to come. University of Arizona space robotics engineer Jekan Thanga and colleagues are leveraging small teams of university researchers and students to take on ambitious, high-risk, high-reward exploration missions that use multiple spacecrafts, or robots, working in teams that are analogous to colonies of social insects. Jekan’s and colleagues’ studies point to multiple promising pathways that produce new architectures and
robust solutions to some critical challenges that await space exploration and development. You won’t want to miss this fascinating look at space exploration in service to sustaining human civilization and the solar-powered lunar ark concept to store cryogenically frozen seed, spore, sperm and egg samples from 6.7 million Earth species.
July 2021
Would You Like a Nudge from a Robot?
FREE and OPEN to ALL. Junior Academy members, middle and high school students welcome and encouraged to attend. Space is limited. Registration required. CLICK the orange Event Information button below to REGISTER! Zoom link to join sent with confirmation email immediately after registering.
Featured Scientist: Yun Seong Song, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Director, Physical Human-Robot Interaction Laboratory (pHRI Lab), Missouri University of Science & Technology
We’re all familiar with robots like unmanned drones or large industrial robots that operate in solitude. In the future, human-robot interactions that involve direct physical contact are likely to become even more ubiquitous—from social-physical robots that might assist human teachers in the classroom to versatile medical robots that tackle clinical challenges in the acute care of patients. While it may feel awkward to have a robot grab and pull us around, future robots may become better at it—if we understand how humans do it and let the robots learn from the ‘experts.’ Mechanical engineer, Yun Seong Song, presents what we know about physical interactions in humans and what to do next to make future robots feel more friendly and helpful, with enhanced abilities to communicate through touch.