In this report for the Nasa NIAC Phase I study, we present a mission architecture and a robotic platform, the Shapeshifter, that allow multi-domain and redundant mobility on Saturn's moon Titan, and potentially other bodies with atmospheres. The Shapeshifter is a collection of simple and affordable robotic units, called Cobots, comparable to personal palm-size quadcopters. By attaching and detaching with each other, multiple Cobots can shape-shift into novel structures, capable of (a) rolling on the surface, to increase the traverse range, (b) flying in a flight array formation, and (c) swimming on or under liquid. A ground station complements the robotic platform, hosting science instrumentation and providing power to recharge the batteries of the Cobots. Our Phase I study had the objective of providing an initial assessment of the feasibility of the proposed robotic platform architecture, and in particular (a) to characterize the expected science return of a mission to the Sotra-Patera region on Titan; (b) to verify the mechanical and algorithmic feasibility of building a multi-agent platform capable of flying, docking, rolling and un-docking; (c) to evaluate the increased range and efficiency of rolling on Titan w.r.t to flying; (d) to define a case-study of a mission for the exploration of the cryovolcano Sotra-Patera on Titan, whose expected variety of geological features challenges conventional mobility platforms.

中文翻译：

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The Shapeshifter：用于探索泰坦的变形、多代理、多模式机器人平台（预印版）

在这份针对美国宇航局 NIAC 第一阶段研究的报告中，我们展示了一个任务架构和一个机器人平台 Shapeshifter，它允许在土星的卫星泰坦以及其他可能有大气层的天体上进行多域和冗余移动。Shapeshifter 是一组简单且价格合理的机器人单元，称为 Cobots，可与个人手掌大小的四轴飞行器相媲美。通过相互连接和分离，多个协作机器人可以变形为新的结构，能够（a）在表面滚动，以增加横越范围，（b）以飞行阵列编队飞行，以及（c）游泳或在液体下。地面站与机器人平台相辅相成，承载科学仪器并为协作机器人的电池充电。我们的第一阶段研究的目标是对拟议的机器人平台架构的可行性进行初步评估，特别是 (a) 描述泰坦上 Sotra-Patera 地区任务的预期科学回报；(b) 验证构建能够飞行、对接、滚动和脱离对接的多智能体平台的机械和算法可行性；(c) 评估在 Titan 上滚动到飞行的增加的范围和效率；(d) 定义探索泰坦上的冰火山 Sotra-Patera 任务的案例研究，其预期的各种地质​​特征挑战了传统的移动平台。(b) 验证构建能够飞行、对接、滚动和脱离对接的多智能体平台的机械和算法可行性；(c) 评估在 Titan 上滚动到飞行的增加的范围和效率；(d) 定义探索泰坦上的冰火山 Sotra-Patera 任务的案例研究，其预期的各种地质​​特征挑战了传统的移动平台。(b) 验证构建能够飞行、对接、滚动和脱离对接的多智能体平台的机械和算法可行性；(c) 评估在 Titan 上滚动到飞行的增加的范围和效率；(d) 定义探索泰坦上的冰火山 Sotra-Patera 任务的案例研究，其预期的各种地质​​特征挑战了传统的移动平台。