ROBERT HIRSH

Education:
B.S. Electrical Engineering (1997) Purdue University
M.S. Computer Engineering (1999) Purdue University

Years at JSC: 11 (5 as a Co-op)

Current Duties

Mr. Hirsh has been the Software Lead for the SCOUT (Science Crew Operation and Utility Testbed) project since May of 2005. In this role he coordinates and directs the integration of the various subsystems’ software (and hardware) onboard the SCOUT vehicle. He also works on the development/support of software on several subsystems on SCOUT, including the computer controllable power distribution system.

Mr. Hirsh is the project leader for the AID (Astronaut Interface Device) project. This project has successfully produced a software GUI (Graphical User Interface) which allows a suited astronaut to interact with a robot. AID can run on a “PDA-sized” computer an astronaut can wear on their wrist during EVA operations. AID is able to control and monitor many different NASA robots including SCOUT(JSC), Centaur (JSC), ATHLETE (JPL), K10 (ARC), as well as the advanced EVA space suits from (JSC).

Additionally, Mr. Hirsh provides support to the ALHAT (Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology) project, which is working to allow precision robotic landing on the surface of the moon.

Previous Positions
From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Hirsh was a member of the EVA Robotic Assistant (ERA) project, as well as the procurement officer for that project. As part of a team, he wrote software (much of which has also been adopted by the SCOUT project) to control the robot, and make it a more useful assistant to an astronaut. In addition to working with software, he was also involved in the hardware development and support of the robot. This activity is no longer under active development; however the robot is still operational and may be used for multiple-robot activities in the future.

From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Hirsh was a member of the SCOUT project. During this time he was involved in software writing (and migration from the ERA project), as well as hardware design on the vehicle. Additionally, he designed the IP address scheme for the robot, which allowed the ExPOC (located at the Johnson Space Center) to drive the SCOUT vehicle while it was over 1000 miles away during the September 2005 field tests.

From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Hirsh was a Co-op (and later a Graduate Co-op) at JSC. During his tours, he worked in DT3 (communications training), ER2 (Intelligent Systems), and ER4 (Robotics Technology). His work included several robots, as well as software and simulation projects here at JSC.