– NASA is training a four-legged robot dog called Spirit to navigate the terrain on the Moon as part of a project called LASSIE (Legged Autonomous Systems for Surface and Space through Innovation Engineering).
– Researchers took Spirit to test environments in Oregon like Mount Hood to have it adapt its locomotion in real-time to rocky, snowy conditions similar to those expected on the Moon’s surface.
– The goal is to eventually have robots autonomously explore the Moon and other worlds. Spirit needs to detect ground conditions and adjust its movement accordingly.
– NASA provided $2 million in funding for the project to help develop robots that can deliver instruments and samples from the Moon’s surface.
– The robots could work collectively, warning each other of hazards and cooperating to traverse difficult areas like soft sand or forming bridges between sites.
– Tests so far have focused on having Spirit adapt to beaches, hills and ice-packed regions to prepare it for exploring Moon environments like the terrain at White Sands, New Mexico.
– Researchers are also looking at applying the same techniques to wheeled robots and six-legged robots to expand lunar and planetary exploration.
Source: futurism
