NASA recently awarded Pittsburgh-based HEBI Robotics a Phase II contract for the creation and testing of physical actuation hardware components for use in the harsh environments of space.
The contract comes in the form of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding, a competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal research/research and development.
“HEBI’s long-term mission is to make it easy for any engineer to build robust, professional grade, robotic systems without years of technical experience or training,” Andrew Willig, HEBI Robotics director of hardware, said. “Creating actuation technology that can withstand the harsh environment of space provides HEBI with a further expanded modular hardware platform with a broader application base. This allows the agile production of complex robotic systems for space applications that would otherwise require long, multi-million-dollar endeavors.”
The contract includes control electronics compatible with the HEBI Robotics ecosystem and other third party systems to enable the rapid development of flight-qualified integrated actuation technology for Earth orbit environments. In orbit, electronics experience ionizing radiation, and traditional lubricants used in gearing otherwise outgas. Equipment is needed to handle objects and perform tasks such as in-space servicing, assembly, and maintenance.
NASA previously awarded HEBI Robotics a Phase I SBIR contract related to the research and testing of actuators.