2016-02-09: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden tours the Autonomy Incubator

After delivering his State Of NASA address at LaRC, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden visited the Autonomy Incubator for a tour and conversation about the state of autonomous systems and NASA missions.While with us in Building 1222, the Administrator heard about sensing, perception, localization, human-machine teaming, motion planning, and collaborative autonomy.

Anna Trujillo spoke with Administrator Bolden about Human Systems Interaction (HSI) protocols used to communicate with drones via semantics and visual cues. During the tour, she demonstrated how a scientist could define a complex flight path using simple gestures and natural language.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden (L) speaks with Anna Trujillo (R)

Dr. Loc Tran and Administrator Bolden discussed object detection, classification, and tracking. Dr. Tran's work currently focuses on distinguishing different kinds of objects for, among many reasons, to determine if an object is a hazard to be avoided.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden (L) meets with Dr. Loc Tran (R)
while Jim Neilan demonstrates visual odometry on the Mars Flyer

Standing with Dr. Danette Allen, Administrator Bolden observed multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in flight as they performed a cooperative mission under development in support of NASA's earth science objectives.

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden (L) talks with Dr. Danette Allen (R)
while LaRC Center Director Dave Bowles looks on