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Tessellator
This project is no longer active.

Head: Kevin Dowling
Contact: Hagen Schempf (hagen@rec.ri.cmu.edu (Currently On Leave))

Mailing address:
Carnegie Mellon University
Robotics Institute
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Associated centers: VASC and FRC
Associated lab/group: NavLab

Tessellator inspects and waterproofs each of the 17,000 tiles that coat the space shuttle's underside, saving humans a laborious task that lasts from the time the shuttle lands at Kennedy Space Center until just before liftoff. By inspecting tiles more accurately than the human eye, Tessellator reduces the need for multiple reinspections. It also injects into each tile a toxic waterproofing chemical, which prevents the lightweight, silica tiles from absorbing water. Human workers have had to wear heavy suits and respirators to inject the chemical, all the while maneuvering in a crowded work area.

Name - Title <Email Address>
• Kevin Dowling - Project Scientist
• Jesse Easudes - Visiting Engineer
• Anthony Nolla - Technician III, RI/ECE
• [Home] Hagen Schempf - Principal Systems Scientist <hagen@rec.ri.cmu.edu (Currently On Leave)>
• [Home] William Red L. Whittaker - University Professor <red@ri.cmu.edu>

Note: This list may not be comprehensive. It contains only those publications in the RI publications database. Entries are listed in reverse chronological order.

• Tessellator Robot Design Document
  K. Dowling
  tech. report CMU-RI-TR-95-43, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, January, 1996. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [1062 KB] copyrighted

• Design of Space Shuttle Tile Servicing Robot: An Application of Task Based Kinematic Design
  J. Kim and P. Khosla
  IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA '93), Vol. 3, May, 1993, pp. 867 - 874. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [722 KB] copyrighted

• A Mobile Robot for Ground Servicing Operations on the Space Shuttle
  K. Dowling, R. Bennett, M. Blackwell, T. Graham, S. Gatrall, R. O'Toole, and H. Schempf
  OE / Technology 1992 Cooperative Intelligent Robots in Space, SPIE, November, 1992.
  Download: pdf [101 KB], ps.gz [98 KB] copyrighted

• Mobile Robot System for Ground Servicing Operations on the Space Shuttle
  H. Schempf, K. Dowling, and M. Blackwell
  SPIE OE/Technology `92 Conference, November, 1992.
  Download: pdf [101 KB], ps.gz [98 KB] copyrighted

• Serpentine Manipulator Planning and Control for NASA Space-Shuttle Payload Servicing
  H. Herman and H. Schempf
  tech. report CMU-RI-TR-92-10, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, October, 1992. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [1059 KB] copyrighted