Robotic Vision for Space Mining

Abstract-- Future Moon bases will likely be constructed using resources mined from the surface of the Moon. The difficulty of maintaining a human workforce on the Moon and communications lag with Earth means that mining will need to be conducted using collaborative robots with a high degree of autonomy. In this paper, we explore the utility of robotic vision towards addressing several major challenges in autonomous mining in the lunar environment: lack of satellite positioning systems, navigation in hazardous terrain, and delicate robot interactions. The competition provided a simulated lunar environment that exhibits the complexities alluded to above. This argues for a high degree of intelligence on each agent and a robust multi-robot The need to transport resources from Earth is a serious coordination system to ensure long-term operation. In-Situ Resource some of the key challenges towards autonomous robots Utilisation (ISRU), where resources are extracted on for collaborative space mining: lack of satellite positioning other astronomical objects and exploited to support longer systems, navigation in hazardous terrain, and the need for and deeper space missions, has been proposed as a way to delicate robot interactions.