Motiv Space Systems, PickNik Robotics collaborate on software for NASA’s Fly Foundational Robotics (FFR) mission

Motiv Space Systems announced a contractual agreement with PickNik Robotics to support software development for NASA’s Fly Foundational Robotics (FFR) mission.

FFR is focused on advancing on-orbit robotic manipulation capabilities and supporting NASA’s broader In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM) objectives.

Motiv, PickNik continue NASA collaboration

Motiv said it is developing the robotic system for the FFR mission to demonstrate autonomous and ground-supervised manipulation tasks in low Earth orbit. As part of this effort, PickNik will provide robot motion planning and arm control software based on its MoveIt Pro commercial robotics platform to support mission planning, simulation and execution of robotic motion within spaceflight operational constraints.

The partnership represents an ongoing relationship between the organizations. In April 2023, PickNik partnered with Motiv Space Systems Inc. to integrate its software with Motiv's xLink robot arms.

“The Fly Foundational Robotics mission is a critical step toward demonstrating state-of-the-art flight robotic manipulation capabilities that can enable a sustainable and scalable ISAM economy,” said Chris Thayer, CEO of Motiv Space Systems. “We’re proud to support NASA as it advances the next generation of autonomous space operations.”

A special version of the Robot Operating System (ROS) will be used for this flight mission, called Space ROS. Space ROS is a project of the Open Source Robotics Foundation, with PickNik and NASA among its largest contributors. PickNik will also support integration activities between Motiv and the hosted orbital platform provider, Astro Digital.

MoveItPro platform mission duties

PickNik said its scope includes delivery of a flight runtime configuration suitable for the mission compute environment, along with a ground-based operator terminal powered by MoveIt Pro to support mission planning, testing and validation before launch. These tools are intended to help the mission team evaluate robotic behaviors through simulation, digital twin analysis and operational review before and during on-orbit execution.

“FFR is an exciting opportunity to apply MoveIt Pro’s commercially available motion planning software to the unique challenges of on-orbit operations,” said Dave Coleman, founder and chief product officer of PickNik Robotics. “We’re glad to support Motiv’s team as they prepare for on-orbit mission operations.”

Additional collaboration includes software integration and co-development support in areas such as behavior execution, system monitoring interfaces and operational tooling aligned with the mission’s requirements for long-duration operations and intermittent communications.

The companies said that these capabilities build on MoveIt Pro’s behavior sequencing and modular runtime architecture, while using Space ROS to align with spaceflight-oriented software standards. PickNik will also support representative development hardware used to mirror the flight compute environment during ground testing.

FFR is expected to contribute operational experience and lessons learned that can help inform future robotic missions and capabilities.