What is the problem? Why should it be solved? Who will is affect? Will the solution be marketable? When developing a solution to a problem it is vital to justify it academically. Furthermore, marketability plays a crucial role on whether an idea can become a product. In this section we will explore and justify the development of an autonomous duster in space.

Due to space’s lack of gravity, dust on the ISS is a major obstacle, often containing various dangerous chemicals. In a 2014 article, Japanese researchers, Katsunori Anezaki and Takeshi Nakano found that the level of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) on the ISS was 3.3 parts per million. Comparatively, a 2008 survey found that among daycares and U.S households, there were only 2.0 part per million. To combat dust issues in space, astronauts spent between two to four hours cleaning every Saturday morning according to astronaut, Clayton Anderson in 2015. Additionally, because water doesn’t flow on the ISS, using water to clean the station is practically impossible, despite being a common tool on Earth. Ideally, it would be optimal to automate the cleaning process on the ISS in order to give the astronauts more time to do more crucial tasks. Moreover, artificial microgravity due to the centrifugal force on the rotating space station causes a neutral buoyant environment in which the robot will have to operate. Consequently, the autonomous robot needs to “stick” to surfaces without the use of magnetism or adhesive.

We surveyed roughly 100 people, asking question about how important sanitization is within their own house and the ISS. We wanted to gather their opinion of how the ISS should be cleaned. We also included a short answer response of why each respondent decided on their preferred method of dusting the ISS. A majority of respondents stated that the method of dusting should be autonomous because the astronauts on the station have much more tasks to attend to, leading them to cut corners when cleaning around the station.

There is a clear discrepancy between whether or not people preferred autonomous dusting on earth compared to space.  Before asking about dusting in space, we informed the respondents that cleaning the ISS took between 2-4 hours. Of over 100 people surveyed, only 3 percent had been previously aware of this. The respondents favor towards autonomous dusting in space may be a result of the amount of time it took. While on earth, dust particles merely fall on the floor, neutral buoyant environments like space cause dust particles to attach to all dimensions of the ISS. Similarly, water is also neutrally buoyant. According to fish specialist at the Vancouver Aquarium, Ruby Banwait, “Much of the work of an aquarist is cleaning—cleaning glass, cleaning walls, cleaning gravel...". An autonomous duster that works in the microgravity of space should also function underwater, suggesting a potential product that could also be marketed to aquariums.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSetuVL0-wz_bbF0HRSCYt8Z55ttTfnIUOLfl7cQfIMmDMKErw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Dunbar, B. (2015, May 15). What is microgravity?. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-microgravity-k4.html

Artifact Summary:

On earth, everything is pulled down by gravity. However, in space, it is a little different. In space, objects are pulled by the microgravity, which causes them to float. Because the NASA space stations are in constant free fall, objects within the station fall at the same speed as the station, simulating the effects of microgravity and making them ‘float’. The stations are in constant free fall since they are moving at a speed fast enough (17500 mph) to fall in a path of travel that matches the Earth’s curvature. This is the same law that keeps the moon orbiting the Earth.  One of the main purposes of the space stations is for NASA to study microgravity and train astronauts to go to space. Additionally, a lot of objects act differently in microgravity (fire, crystals, etc.). Learning how microgravity works allows scientists to gain insight on how things operate in space.

Artifact Critique:

On earth, the forces of gravity cause dust particles to fall on the ground. Unlike earth, space’s microgravity causes all surfaces of the ISS to be quarry to dust, regardless of orientation. Dust can accumulate even on the walls and ceilings of the ISS.  Microgravity will not allow for a traditional autonomous vacuum-cleaner to work. Unlike on earth, where a robotic vacuum only accounts for an x and y axis, in space it must also account for a Z axis. Therefore, using a robot which accounts for all three axes will allow for cleaning across all areas of the space station. 

KleinCorinne, C. (2023, January 22). Here’s everything you want to know about octopus suckers! OctoNation. https://octonation.com/facts-about-octopus-suckers/ 

Artifact Summary:

Summarize in your own words. Highlight the key pieces, including features and benefits.

Octopuses use their frisbee-shaped suckers to grab objects and food. Octopuses have two rows of them from mouth to arm. Each arm contains around 280. The ‘teeth’ of the suckers are made of a protein named suckerin, which provides flexibility and strength. When a sucker comes in contact with an object, it conforms to the surface, creating a seal. It then uses muscle to reduce water pressure and make the seal watertight. The suckers even use special mucus to help stick to objects. To detach from an object, muscles around the suckers release tension. Despite their size, these mechanisms can support up to 30 pounds of force. All in all, these mechanisms create low-pressure suction on surfaces.

Artifact Critique:

The lack of gravity on the ISS and its crowding with tools cause problems for a traditional autonomous vacuum. Octopuses on the other hand dwell in waters which provide a comparable neutral-buoyancy to space. Octopuses use their arms and suction cups to propel, grapple, and attach. Using a similar design for the Robotic duster will allow it to maneuver the crowded ISS.

Garcia, M. (2016, April 28). International Space Station Facts and Figures. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/facts-and-figures 

Artifact Summary:

The International Space Station (ISS) consists of a crew working in the station while traveling at five miles a second. With 356 feet in length, the living and working space contains six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, and a gym. Additionally, the station is controlled by over 50 computers, uses eight miles of wire, 350000 sensors, and 100 data networks to transfer 400,000 signals, ensuring the crew’s safety. Because of this complex system, a trip to the ISS cost about 55 million dollars.

Artifact Critique:

Due to the multitude of fragile parts on the ISS, a rigid and inflexible robotic duster could cause severe damage to vital electronics on the ISS. Additionally, any sort of magnets could damage computers and sensors which monitor the astronaut’s safety. Using a design similar to an octopus will not only allow for maneuverability, but will also prevent rigid parts from damaging electronics. Even more so, using a suction cup system -like that on an octopus- will allow the robot to delicately grab onto and release from objects around the space station. 

Hoffschwelle, S. (2023, August 29). Cleaning up in space: How astronauts maintain a germ-free environment. StarLust. https://starlust.org/how-do-astronauts-keep-their-living-quarters-clean/ 

Artifact Summary:

Cleanliness is one of the most important factors in the ISS environment. Preventing bacteria from accumulating can help keep the astronauts healthy physically and mentally. It is important to note that if astronauts get sick, they do not have immediate access to emergency rooms and new medical supplies. Additionally, dirt and grime can affect technical systems and equipment. As a matter of fact, when new rovers, probes, and other equipment are sent to space, they are set up in a heavily sanitized room within the station, and the astronauts assembling the equipment are required to wear special suits in order to prevent bacterial contamination. Additionally, germs can contaminate alien environments (mars, moon, etc.) and mutate quickly. This can cause issues down the line as it may cause scientists to believe that life developed in these environments without human intervention. In the past, the Russian space station, Mir, was decaying due to football-size blobs of water that contained a multitude of harmful microbes and bacteria, located in many systems. Unfortunately, keeping the ISS clean can serve to be very difficult due to its tight space, leaving little room for many cleaning supplies. Although water is a significant tool in cleaning spaces on earth, it should be used scarcely on the space station since it needs to be conserved for living and creates a good environment for bacteria to grow. Additionally, cleaning in microgravity can serve to be difficult, requiring special equipment and procedures. 

Artifact Critique:

Due to close living conditions, bacteria humans carry with them, and the limited supplies, sanitization of the ISS is a major concern. For the 6th months that astronauts spend on the ISS, it is important that it is kept clean so that the astronauts will stay healthy. With lack of emergency access in space, it is important that the astronauts avoid getting ill. The Robotic Duster will significantly aid in the cleaning process preventing gunk in the ventilation and excess bacteria from getting the astronauts sick.

Anderson, C. C. (2015, April 8). Do astronauts aboard the International Space Station have cleaning schedules?. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/04/do-astronauts-aboard-the-international-space-station-have-cleaning-schedules.html 

Artifact Summary:

Astronauts on the ISS are required to routinely clean the station every Saturday morning for 2-4 hours. Each crew member is assigned a different segment of the station. However, the ISS is also kept clean by the HEPA filters. Generally speaking, the astronauts on the ISS focus their efforts on vacuuming filters and vents, which accumulate gunk very fast. All in all, each crewmember has a part of the ISS that is their responsibility to keep clean.

Artifact Critique:

A single seat for a round trip to the ISS is around 55 million dollars. Currently astronauts already spend 2-4 hours daily cleaning; not to mention they also spend 8.5 hours a day sleeping. Using the Robotic duster, the 2-4 hours of cleaning can be significantly minimized, allowing astronauts to spend more time working and conducting research. This ultimately will make that 55 million dollar seat more cost effective because less of the day will be spent on maintenance.

Smith, E. (2023, March 1). MIT is developing a soft robot that takes its inspiration from sea turtles. Mashable. https://mashable.com/video/mit-robot-sea-turtle 

Artifact Summary:

The robot uses hinge material to stiffen and relax the joints of the arms, allowing it to swim in water. The design is fairly basic, utilizing flexible plates that can change their stiffness. The entire design is powered by an arduino. The group of engineers plan to adjust the design in order to swim in saltwater.

Artifact Critique:

How does the artifact provide validity, conflict, or the need for further research? What unique aspect does the artifact add to your overall research?

This prototype provides a great idea for how the kwadropus can move in a zero-g environment. Because the model stays neutrally buoyant in water, the environment is similar to the one on the ISS. However, it's hard to move air to swim in the ISS, so more research on how to generate motion will be needed. 

YouTube. (2019, October 30). Chameleon’s elastic tongue inspires fast-acting robots. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trDz4Ukz_VQ 

Artifact Summary:

Various animals and plants use elastic joints to quickly grab prey. A prime example of this is the Chameleon. The Chameleon's tongue is extremely elastic. When the Chameleon’s mouth is closed, its tongue wraps in on itself storing elastic potential energy. When released, the Chameleon’s tongue can shoot towards its prey in 1/10 of a second. Robotic machinery on the other hand has heavy components causing slow and rigid movements. Other examples of this type of elastic movement include venus flytraps and birds. Both of these have elastic joints which rest in a closed position. This helps the venus flytrap capture ugs quickly and birds latch onto branches without effort.

Artifact Critique:

How does the artifact provide validity, conflict, or the need for further research? What unique aspect does the artifact add to your overall research?

Robots in industry are often built out of heavy metal parts. These robots tend to be relatively slow because of the metal parts. This is because robots are maneuvered using motors. Some animals and plants, however, perform similar tasks to these robots far quicker and without effort. Using elastic parts they are able to perform tasks such as catching prey or latching onto things far quicker to robots. In microgravity, any force applied to the walls of the ISS will cause the robot to deflect off of the surface. In order for the robotic duster to attach to any wall successfully, the robot must be able to attach quickly and without applying major force.

Mazzolai, B. (n.d.). Resistive memory‐based in‐memory computing: From device and large‐scale ... Advanced Intellegent System. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aisy.201900068 

Artifact Summary:

The research of soft robotics has become more prevalence with the realization that rigid parts are often slower, less mobile, and can be dangerous. Recently, researchers found that the octopus has many features that could be useful in soft robotics. Not only do octopuses hae eight brains for each of their arms, but their arms also have no bones. Consisting of only muscles, octopus arms are soft and able to move with almost infinite degrees of freedom. Additionally octopus arms contain several suctions cups which all the octopus to easily attach to objects in harsh environments.

Artifact Critique:

Robots common to factories across the world have limited degrees of motion. Robots on earth specifically use joints, each including it’s own motor. In order to have a variety of degrees of freedom, a rigid robot would have to have several intricate joints that each include their own motors. The octopus, on the other hand, has no joints, therefore is able to achieve infinite degrees of freedom. Designing a similar soft robot to an octopus could help eliminate the issue’s with common robots on earth.

Dunbar, B. (2011). Spacewalks2011. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/nasaandyou/home/spacewalks_bkgd_en.html 

Artifact Summary:

Traversing through space is very similar to swimming on earth. As a matter of fact, before astronauts go to the ISS, they are trained in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), which contains 6.2 million gallons of water. For every hour they spend on a “spacewalk”, they must train for seven hours in the pool. Additionally they use tethers to keep them attached to the ISS while in space.

Artifact Critique:

This article provides evidence towards the idea that floating in space is very similar to floating within a body of water. This provides a lot of validity towards the idea of using an octopus as a model for the roomba since they can stay neutrally buoyant, float, and swim within water. This principle could also work in space and on the ISS.

Sklar, J. (2020, April 2). Meet the world’s first completely Soft Robot. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2016/12/08/155290/meet-the-worlds-first-completely-soft-robot/ 

Artifact Summary:

Harvard researchers created a fully pneumatic robot called the “octobot”. This robot doesn’t include any batteries, computer chips, or other rigid parts, rather it is simply a special silicon mold around a line of platinum and a tiny chip. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide is pumped through two reservoirs until it hits the line of platinum that catalyzes a reaction from which gas expands through a tiny chip. This cause the robot to do a little dance, although simple, proving that soft robots can indeed be created.

Artifact Critique:

Robots used in many factories are rigid and do not have the ability to properly form around desired shape unless programed specifically to do so. These rigid robots also have a variety of computer parts, motors, and sensors that can be easily damaged. Not only will creating a soft robot prevent damage to parts on the ISS, but is also will prevent damage to itself.

Mancini, M. (2016, September 29). 11 behind-the-scenes secrets of aquariums. Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86836/11-behind-scenes-secrets-aquariums 

Artifact Summary:

Because of how important the animal’s health is to every aquarium, aquarists spend most of their time cleaning filters, gravel, and poop within the tanks. Some aquarists use a protein skimmer to filter out fecal matter.

Artifact Critique:

Autonomous cleaning can heavily benefit the aquariums because cleaning takes a lot of time for aquarists. Additionally, because the laws of neutral bouncy apply in both scenarios, our solution can be used for aquariums and the ISS.