PickNik awarded NASA SBIR Phase 2 for in-orbit robot autonomy.

PickNik Robotics was just awarded a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop its technology for advanced planning capabilities for robots in microgravity environments. The company is developing an easy-to-use supervised autonomy solution called Movelt Studio to command remote complex robots. MoveIt Studio expands problem-solving capabilities of traditional robot teleoperation. PickNik is the maintainer of the open-source MoveIt project, a widely used robotic motion planning framework within the Robot Operating System (ROS).

PickNik’s technology addresses using robotic arms in environments where full autonomy is too difficult. A human operator supervises and intervenes if a robot gets stuck.

MoveIt Studio provides access to the advanced algorithmic capabilities of MoveIt technology within an accessible user interface. MoveIt Studio enables operators to specify complex sequences of motions for robots unstructured environments, including the International Space Station and the future Lunar Gateway.  PickNik is currently seeking reference customers for Summer 2021 and beyond. For more information, contact [email protected].

Original Release: PR Newswire