CADRE: Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration

CADRE Team in the JPL Mars Yard. I am pictured second to the left of the ‘Attention’ sign at the back. Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

CADRE - Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration

The CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration, led by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), aims to utilize a team of small, solar-powered rovers to independently explore and gather data from the Moon using mesh network radios for communication. These rovers, equipped with stereo cameras, navigation sensors, and ground-penetrating radars, are designed to collect comprehensive measurements from various locations simultaneously, thus demonstrating the potential of multirobot missions in undertaking diverse scientific objectives, accessing risky terrains, and supporting astronaut activities. The rovers, each the size of a carry-on bag, will conduct this experiment in the Reiner Gamma region of the Moon for the equivalent of 14 Earth days (one lunar day) after their anticipated arrival in 2026 aboard the Intuitive Machines 3 (IM-3) lander, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The project builds upon the previous work on the shoebox-sized A-PUFFER (Autonomous Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot) that pioneered the multiagent autonomy software to be used by the CADRE rovers.

Roles

May 2022-Feb 2024: Robotics Technologist @ NASA JPL

Dec 2022-Feb 2024: CADRE Autonomy | GNC Team

Led effort to integrate CADRE DARTS simulator with GNC (guidance, navigation & control) stack as DARTS expert for CADRE multi-rover autonomy Lunar mission.
Developed Monte Carlo test suite, enabling perception & state estimation evaluation, & implemented closed-loop testing framework.
Implemented ROS bridge in F Prime flight software to enable end-to-end testing between PS&E (planning, scheduling & execution) stack & GNC stack in simulation.