Space Permanence

GITAI provides labor to the Lunar

The competition for lunar resource exploration and lunar base development is accelerating mainly in the U.S. and China, and the demand for robotic labor, which is safer and less costly than human astronauts, is rapidly increasing. In response to this growing demand, GITAI has developed the advanced lunar robotic rover “R1” that can perform general-purpose tasks on the moon such as exploration, mining, inspection, maintenance, assembly, etc. In December of 2021 at the mock lunar surface environment in JAXA’s Sagamihara Campus, the GITAI lunar robotic rover R1 conducted numerous tasks and mobility operations, successfully completing all planned tests. Here we release a digest video of the demonstration.

GITAI enhances a Space Robot’s Performance

As the demand for development/construction tasks in space is increasing, the requirements for robots in space are becoming diverse and complex. GITAI has responded to these needs by developing the GITAI IN1, an inchworm-type robotic arm equipped with “grapple end-effectors” on both ends of the arm. It enhances the performance of two different types of features: “Capability”, to perform multiple tasks, and “Mobility”, to perform a wide range of tasks.

This ground demonstration test emulates tasks that would be required for future lunar exploration and lunar base construction using two robots: GITAI IN1, an inchworm-type robotic arm, and GITAI R1, a lunar rover already announced on Feb 10, 2022. The below video shows a series of tests conducted in the simulated lunar environment at JAXA Sagamihara Campus, and all tests were completed successfully.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES

GITAI R1

Overview

GITAI R1 is a four-legged, rolling robot with two arms and claw-like hands, two cameras for eyes, and multiple sensors. It is designed to perform general-purpose tasks on the moon such as exploration, mining, inspection, maintenance, assembly, etc. In 2022, R1 successfully completed all planned tests and mobility operations at the mock lunar surface environment in JAXA’s Sagamihara Campus.

Specifications (Arm)

Length: 1.5 [m] (Dual Arm)
DOF: 8+1 for each arm
Control: autonomous / teleoperation

Specifications (Rover)

Size: 1.6 x 1.4 x 1.9 (Highest) [m]
Weight: 220 kg
Wheel dimension: 0.4 x 0.15 [m]

GITAI IN1

Overview

GITAI IN1 is an inchworm-type robotic arm equipped with “grapple end-effectors” on both ends of the arm. This unique feature increases “Capability”, which enables it to connect with various tools (end-effectors) to perform multiple tasks for various applications, and “Mobility”, which enables it to move in any direction.