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Since 2020, Opteran has collaborated with Airbus Defence and Space. The corporation will integrate its autonomous systems into Airbus’ rovers. | Supply: Opteran
London-based Opteran notes that nature provides an additional environmentally friendly and robust approach to autonomy in household robotics. This technology will enable new mission capabilities for future Mars missions and various exploration initiatives.
Building upon over a decade of research into animal and insect vision, navigation, and decision-making, Opteran is collaborating with Airbus on tests at its Mars Yard to demonstrate rovers’ ability to perceive their surroundings in the most challenging extraterrestrial environments.
“Mars presents one of the most formidable challenges for achieving autonomy,” David Rajan, co-founder and CEO of Opteran, explained. “Typically, doing autonomy is straightforward, but we’re attempting to do it on a planet where it takes 30 minutes or more just to send a message.”
“It’s not simply akin to the moon, which is extremely distant.” While people often underestimate the vastness of space? As we embarked on the ambitious project of building a machine capable of autonomy in a remote, inhospitable environment, I found myself captivated by the sheer scale and complexity of the endeavor.
Opteran claims to have reverse-engineered PureMind’s algorithms, developing software that enables autonomous machines to traverse complex environments without requiring extensive knowledge or training. Based on their work in 2020, they earned an award for this achievement.
Robustness is pivotal in ensuring the reliability of autonomous systems in domestic settings, a quality that is particularly crucial for household robots.
One aspect of the challenge is the accompanying cost and intricacy of building a system designed for deployment on Mars, which poses significant hurdles in itself. Shipping it to them that quickly comes at a steep cost,” famous investor Raghuram Rajan notes. So, if it fails, you won’t be able to easily swap it out for a replacement. You cannot send another person to fix it in the marketplace. Software has become remarkably resilient.
Despite advancements in robotics, many modern extraterrestrial machines still struggle with slow processing times – requiring several minutes to generate a comprehensive map of their surroundings using data from multiple cameras before executing any movement.
Currently, creating a panoramic depth map can consume minutes processing sensor data to determine the next step, Rajan explained. As the rover approaches the data source, it momentarily halts to process the information, requiring a few minutes to analyze and determine its next course of action before transmitting again.
The rovers must meticulously retrace their path at intervals as short as a few feet or even inches, depending on the terrain, as explained by Rajan. The rover’s exploration unfolds through a deliberate and meticulous process, taking small yet calculated strides across the planet’s terrain.
Opteran asserts that its vision and cognition programs empower Mars rovers to rapidly perceive and adapt to their surroundings within milliseconds, even in challenging conditions, without compromising the robot’s critical power reserves.
This efficient algorithm boasts low weight and energy consumption, capable of generating and constructing depth maps at an impressive 90 frames per second. Rajan emphasized that this phenomenon was a type of instantaneous process. That transformation in tempo enables a significant shift in capabilities. In reality, our processing times are alarmingly slow – a mere fraction of seconds wasted in doing absolutely nothing.
Opteran outlines ambitious plans to explore the Martian terrain?
Opteran claims that its profitable software for Opteran Thoughts expertise can significantly extend navigation capabilities in extreme, off-world terrain during real-world house exploration. Ultimately, this technology provides reliable navigation for rovers, enabling them to drive faster and more efficiently.
The venture’s immediate priority lies in refining its depth estimation capabilities for effective impediment detection, while its medium-term efforts will centre on developing infrastructure-free visual navigation solutions.
“What we achieve with clients is enabling autonomous machines to navigate complex environments freely, sans reliance on traditional infrastructure.” Rajan noted that individuals are capable of selecting not only depths, but also finding ways to construct mental maps and navigate their surroundings with ease.
Opteran is collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus to enhance the autonomous capabilities of Mars rovers. Supply: Opteran
This doesn’t belong to our current project. To avoid confusion, let’s clarify: our goal extends beyond exploring depth perception to examine the intersection of localization and mapping, he emphasized.
Rajan noted that Opteran is concentrating its efforts on developing smaller, more agile, and cost-effective rover designs that can be deployed in fleets to potentially explore the Martian surface. These expendable robots could potentially rectify the problem of mapping challenging terrain.
Once preliminary test results are shared with stakeholders, it’s possible to transition to the next phase of grant funding, focusing on deployment and commercialization initiatives.
As Rajan emphasized, “A collaborative approach is crucial, with every detail meticulously considered to ensure it’s nothing short of exemplary.” To withstand the harsh conditions of the solar system, the entity must be thoroughly optimized from scratch.
The venture receives funding from ESA’s Common Assistance Technology Programme, channeled through the UK Space Agency, leveraging modern technologies unable to be sent into space and developing them for future mission applications.
