Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in a joint collaboration with researchers at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have developed working prototypes of “hedgehog” robots, designed to traverse small celestial bodies in space.
WHAT IS A HEDGEHOG ROBOT?
Unlike traditional space bots or rovers, the hedgehog robot is unique in that it hops and tumbles across surfaces instead of rolling on wheels. What gives it this special ability? According to Issa Nesnas, leader of the JPL team, the robot is “shaped like a cube,” fully equipped with spikes that serve two main functions: 1) they propel the device by spinning and 2) they act as a barrier (or feet) between the robot’s body and the space terrain.
“The spikes could also house instruments such as thermal probes to take the temperature of the surface as the robot tumbles,” Nesnas said.
THE HEDGEHOG ROBOT IN SPACE
According to Live Mint, two prototypes have already been tested on NASA’s C-9 aircraft back in June 2015. As part of the study, the robots endured four flights and 180 parabolas in a microgravity environment; researchers also tested the robots’ performance on various types of surfaces, representative of what could be found on a comet or asteroid.
With positive results from the test, the engineers are now focused on optimizing the bots to make them as autonomous as possible – ideally without needing too much instruction from Earth. The end goal is to utilize an orbiting mothership in space to communicate and relay instructions to a hedgehog robot as it conducts research. Due to the small size (roughly 20 cm cubed), the robots are considered a “one time use” kind of deal. However, they can be stacked on top of each other and used for separate scientific missions, according to Popular Mechanics.
