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TERRY FONG: The Intelligent Robotics Group is

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developing new robotics technology to improve the

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way that humans can explore the solar system.

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A key part of that is looking at how humans and

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robots can work together as teams so that

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humans can support robots, and that

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robots can support humans.

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We want to interact with autonomous systems.

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We want to be able to create systems that we can

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trust, in all kinds of circumstances.

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Several years ago when we started working with

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these remotely operated robots,

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we needed a piece of software that would allow us

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to look at the terrain, to look at the sensor data

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coming from the robots, and

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understand its situation.

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And that led to the creation of VERVE.

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VERVE is a 3-D robot user interface.

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It allows us to see the 3-D world that

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the robots are operating in.

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It's been used with our K10 planetary rovers,

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our K-REX planetary rover,

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with SPHERES on the Space Station

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and with our new robot, the Astrobee,

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which will be on the Space Station in 2017.

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In 2013 we carried out a series of tests with

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astronauts on the International Space Station, and

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in those tests we had astronauts who were flying

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200 miles above the Earth remotely operate a

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robot, the K10 planetary rover,

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here in California.

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MARIA BUALAT: You cannot joystick a robot

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at the distance we're dealing with

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because of time delay.

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You need a robot that's very safe,

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that can operate on its own,

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can complete tasks on its own.

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On the other hand, you still want the human in the

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loop, because the human brings a lot of experience

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and very powerful cognitive ability that can deal

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with issues that the autonomy's

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not quite ready to handle.

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That's why NASA feels it's a very potent

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combination to use both the human capability

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and the robotic capability together.

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TERRY FONG: After our 2013 tests involving an

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astronaut on the Space Station remotely operating

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a robot here on Earth, we realized the software

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could be applied to lots of different uses.

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One of those uses happened to be supporting the

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operation of an autonomous vehicle.

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We were very excited when Nissan was interested in

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applying this to self-driving cars.

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EUGENE TU: One of the key goals of NASA is to

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transfer technology out to the commercial sector

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for broader use.

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When we engage in these type of partnerships we

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have a real opportunity to gain knowledge

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from them as well.

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Our collaboration with Nissan North America

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and with other self-driving car companies is an

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example of that.

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One of the things we gain is to learn how our

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autonomy is used and how humans

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interact with that.

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The need for autonomy and greater autonomy is

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always going be there for NASA missions

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in the future.

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But seeing it applied in a real world

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example of self-driving cars, for example,

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we will get that knowledge and benefit as well.

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TERRY FONG: I love robots.

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I help build and test them.

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In the future, I see robots everywhere.

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We have the potential of this technology reaching

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thousands or millions of people,