The ERGO Framework and its Use in Planetary/Orbital Scenarios

ERGO (European Robotic Goal-Oriented Autonomous Controller) is one of the six space robotic projects in the frame of the first call of the PERASPERA SRC. ERGO is aimed to future space missions, in which space robots will require a higher level of autonomy (e.g. Exomars or Mars2020). As a framework, ERGO provides a set of components that can be reused and tailored for robots space missions (Orbital, Deep Space or Planetary Explorations) in which the on-board system has to work autonomously, performing complex operations in hazardous environments without human intervention. The concept of autonomy can be applied to a whole set of operations to be performed on-board with no human supervision, such as Martian exploration rovers, deep space probes, or in- orbit assembly robots. In the last decades, the advantages of increasing the level of autonomy in spacecraft have been demonstrated in planetary rovers. At the same time, orbital space missions have already successfully applied autonomy concepts on board, in particular for autonomous event detection and on-board activities planning. ERGO provides a framework for on-board autonomy systems based on a specific paradigm aimed to facilitate an easy integration and/or expansion covering future mission needs; by using this paradigm, both reactive and deliberative capabilities can be orchestrated on-board. In ERGO, deliberative capabilities are provided via AI techniques: automated planning and machine-learning based vision systems. ERGO also provides a set of tools for developing safety-critical space mission applications and FDIR systems. Moreover, specific components for motion planning, path planning, hazard avoidance and trajectory control are also part of the framework. Finally, ERGO is integrated with the TASTE middleware. All ERGO components are now being tested in an orbital and a planetary scenario. This paper discusses the ERGO components, its main characteristics, and how they have been applied to an orbital and a planetary scenario. It provides an overview of the evolution of the ERGO system; its main components and the future extensions planned for it.