TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Robotic System for Assembly and Maintenance of Lightweight Reconfigurable Structures (TOP2-321)

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. 

THE TECHNOLOGY:  

Missions to the moon and other planets will require large-scale infrastructure that would benefit from autonomous assembly by robots without on-site human intervention. Modular and reconfigurable structures, such as those built from lattice-based building blocks, are reusable and easy to manufacture. Furthermore, reconfigurable systems have the potential to outperform traditional, fixed infrastructure in applications that require high levels of flexibility in addition to structural strength and rigidity. NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel and efficient mobile bipedal robot system to construct low-mass, high precision, and large-scale infrastructure. The mobile bipedal robot system is configured to carry, transfer, and place lattice-based modular unit cells, called voxels, to form a three-dimensional lattice structure. A team of mobile bipedal robots can autonomously unpack and assemble unit cells into functioning structures and systems. The technology provides an integrated system that enables large-scale surface and in-space structural assembly. 

To enable the goal of autonomous assembly of high performing structures, a robot system must be able to travel across a lattice structure in all dimensions, transport and align a unit cell module to the correct location and fasten the module to the existing structure. In this system, a team of multiple mobile bipedal robots work together to carry, transfer, and place 3D-lattice modules (e.g., cuboctahedron voxels) to form a 3D lattice structure. The team of mobile bipedal robots autonomously provide transportation, placement, unpacking, and assembly of voxel modules into functional structures and systems. As the team of mobile bipedal robots live and locomote on the 3D-lattice structure, they monitor health and performance, enabling repair and reconfiguration when needed.  

To express interest in this opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/TOP2-321  

If you have any questions, please e-mail NASA’s Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this SAM.gov notice and your preferred contact information. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/ 

These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.