The Robotics Innovation Center of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence DFKI and the University of Bremen have developed the multi-limbed walking robot 'Mantis' for use in space. 'Mantis' is agile, dexterous and has comprehensive sensory perception of its surroundings.

Not only can it overcome steep craters and scree fields, it is even able to use its front legs to build infrastructure on foreign planets. On Earth, the robot could be used in disaster relief operations or in industrial production processes, for example.

The six-legged walking robot was designed along the lines of a praying mantis as part of the recently completed 'Limes' project (Learning Intelligent Motions for Kinematically Complex Legged Robots for Exploration in Space), which was funded by the German Aerospace Center DLR over a period of four years. Its extremely flexible and adaptive locomotor system gives it a high degree of mobility on uneven and unstructured surfaces.

The two front extremities, which are equipped with grippers, are not only used by 'Mantis' for walking, but also for the precise manipulation and handling of objects. The robot is equipped with a large number of different sensors for visual and tactile perception of its surroundings. This makes it possible, for example, to analyze the respective surface conditions.

Integrated behavior library

In the 'Limes' project, the scientists in Bremen have generated and optimized different movement patterns using machine learning methods so that the robot has a kind of behavioural library at its disposal. It can use this to safely traverse different types of environmental formations and surfaces such as steep slopes or scree.

Based on the sensor data, Mantis selects the appropriate walking pattern for the respective situation. To overcome a detected obstacle, the robot can, for example, lift several legs or its entire body.

After each action, the robot evaluates its previous decision - in terms of energy consumption, for example. In this way, it can adapt its future behavior accordingly in similar situations and further expand its behavior library.

Simulation under extraterrestrial conditions

Even before the actual implementation in hardware, the newly developed movement patterns were tested in simulations that simulate extraterrestrial conditions such as gravity, lighting conditions or inclines.

In DFKI's 288^m2 space exploration hall, the walking patterns could be tested directly on the robot system under realistic conditions in the artificial crater landscape. In future space missions, 'Mantis' will be used primarily in uneven and difficult-to-access terrain, for example to take soil samples or to enable the construction of infrastructure.