FROM THE STRIP DISTRICT TO THE STARS
Bosch researchers in the Strip will use sound to check equipment on the space station
NASA astronaut Anne McClain checks out the Astrobee robot on the International Space Station. The cube-shaped robotic assistant could free the crew from some routine maintenance duties. Bosch Research and Technology Center in the Strip District is developing technology for the robot.
Acoustics in the International Space Station could one day become an important part of our understanding of space.
Designers at the Bosch Research and Technology Center in the Strip District are ready to launch a small module that, in the end, will allow astronauts to spend less time gathering data and fixing equipment — and more time learning about space.
SoundSee, scheduled to launch on a rocket in November, is made up of sensors and microphones that can gather acoustic data about the space station. Back in Pittsburgh, algorithms and artificial intelligence at Bosch will analyze the data to offer feedback about the station and how the equipment there is functioning.
The module could be called an “automated inspector, if you will,” said Samarjit Das, the principal investigator and project lead.
Right now, crew members working at the space station gather this information themselves through several tedious journeys.
With the SoundSee module in place, astronauts will have time to focus on collecting other data. Additionally, the module can detect more sounds than the human ear, Jon Macoskey, a research scientist on the project, said.
“Sound really offers a unique perspective on things . ... Using this technology, we’ll be able to hear when something isn’t working,” Mr. Macoskey said.
The machine will travel around the space station as a payload on NASA’s autonomous robot Astrobee. Bosch partnered with NASA, as well as Astrobotic Technology Inc., a space robotics company in Downtown Pittsburgh.
“Thinking further into the future, space stations around the moon and Mars are going to need these sorts of systems to make sure they’re operating all the time, even when crew members aren’t on board,” said Andrew Horchler, principal research scientist at Astrobotic and the main project lead for the partnership with Bosch.
Bosch did not disclose financial information about the project, but the company did say it received a grant for up to $8 million from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space.
The project started in fall 2017, when researchers from Bosch saw a demonstration with a small flying robot.
For the next two years, they thought about what they could do with that small box to further advancements in space technology. After its November launch, the SoundSee module will collect data at least through 2020. Bosch plans to conduct the first experiments next spring.
While the SoundSee boxes are in space, researchers at the Bosch offices in Pittsburgh have designed a lab to simulate the conditions on the space station, so they can continue testing and improving the technology for future iterations.
For now, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama will handle communications with
the International Space Station. In the future, Bosch envisions using the Strip District office as a command center as well, complete with a real-time video feed from space. Eventually, the goal is to make the entire process automated, Mr. Das said.
Down the line, Mr. Das continued, the technology could be applied to different industries and fields — using the same idea of collecting acoustic data to learn more information about machines.
For example, similar technology in a factory could determine when equipment needs repairs before it breaks down entirely or becomes unsafe.
The Bosch Group, a German conglomerate that now has more than 400,000 associates worldwide, is involved in industries across the board, from automobiles and mobility to industrial and energy to consumer goods. SoundSee will be the company’s first deployment of technology into space.
The company generated sales of $92.7 billion as of December 2018, according to a news release. Sales generated in the U.S., Canada and Mexico comprised $14.5 billion.
The Pittsburgh office opened in 1999 and was one of the first technology companies to come to the region, according to site leader Christopher Martin. There are 50 employees in Pittsburgh.
The company often partners with Carnegie Mellon University, including on the Carnegie Bosch Institute, which focuses on innovation at the intersection of technology and business.
In June, the Bosch Center for Artificial Intelligence opened. The center committed to invest $8 million in research on AI across five offices, including one in Pittsburgh.
“We’re not just guided by scientists and engineers that have great ideas. We also look at trends,” Mr. Martin said of the company’s work in multiple industries. Already an international group, he continued, the group always aims to expand the use of its innovation beyond the company, beyond the region and now, with SoundSee, even further.