The Redwire Robotics Researcher is Tackling the Challenge of Grasping Unknown Objects in Space
A Childhood Dream Turned Reality
As a young student enthralled by the final frontier, Kuldeep Barad recalls his favorite space mission, NASA’s Deep Space 1, with excitement.
“It was a really cool technology demonstrator that packed 12 of the most outrageous technical subsystems of its time in one mission,” said Kuldeep. “An ion engine that maneuvered using an onboard optical navigation system, all of which was planned, scheduled, and executed autonomously on board by an intelligent remote agent. That was 20 years ago. Can you imagine?”
For Kuldeep, it wasn’t just the audacious experiments that he remembers; it was the spirit of the researchers and engineers that left an indelible mark.
“They were not afraid. That’s how I would like to see new space technology develop,” he said. “I was young and did not understand why it was difficult to make every spacecraft autonomous. So, understanding and improving autonomy for spacecraft became a North Star for me.”
Talking about how he ended up focusing on Robotics, Kuldeep recalls when he first made a robot move.
“I entered (space) robotics not so long ago. The first time I put my algorithm on a robot, it grabbed a rubber ducky from the table. I realized it was more exciting than having your simulations converge on a screen,” said Kuldeep.
He clarifies that the problems in robotics allow you to work on end-to-end solutions that are tested on real systems. In addition, the progress we have witnessed in terrestrial robotics is a great leading measure of the exciting space technology advancements that await us.
From Rubber Ducks to Cutting-Edge Robotics Research
Today, Kuldeep works on cutting-edge space robotics research focused on rendezvous and proximity operations as an Industrial PhD Researcher in Perception at Redwire. His work is focused on developing robot vision for perceiving and grasping unknown objects. It turns out, equipping a robot to have the visual intelligence to grasp and manipulate objects is a huge challenge and a topic that Kuldeep has been investigating for his PhD that he will defend this January at the University of Luxembourg.
His work brought him to Luxembourg in 2021. The 28-year-old researcher works between Redwire Space Luxembourg and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust’s Space Robotics research group at the University of Luxembourg. His work is supported by Luxembourg’s National Research Fund with an Industrial Fellowship. In his time at Redwire, he works on vision systems for the Redwire’s STAARK robotic arm and the technical challenges of perception in orbital operations.
Kuldeep now also serves as Redwire’s lead researcher for the Center for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR) at Stanford University. Redwire serves as one of two industry co-founders of the Center .
“Currently we are focused on perceptual intelligence for challenging proximity operations. Ultimately, the goal is to develop a multi-mission ISAM technology stack for dynamic operations,” Kuldeep said. The team is developing practical solutions for on-board characterization of unknown spacecraft. Much of the effort focuses on enabling Redwire camera systems and platforms to dissect unstructured data using artificial intelligence.
Embracing the Power of Community in Luxembourg
Kuldeep has come a long way from his childhood in India. He noted that he was much better at biology than physics in high school.
“That almost sent me to medicine. But my love for aerospace engineering was too strong, so I did my undergraduate studies in aerospace in India, followed by a master’s degree in space systems in the Netherlands,” Kuldeep said. “After that I moved to Luxembourg.”
Situated between Belgium, France and Germany, and slightly smaller than Rhode Island, Luxembourg has become a European leader in the space industry, hosting more than 70 companies and public bodies and employing over 1,400 space professionals.
“Luxembourg is a unique place that has gotten a lot of the elements right for its young space ecosystem here to thrive,” said Kuldeep. He points to the support for research and commercial activities, particularly international collaboration. It’s also much easier to connect with the right people and stakeholders.
When asked about the potential impact of his work, Kuldeep said, “I hope that some elements will go on to power a large swathe of orbital robotic missions in some form. And the underlying building blocks are definitely generalizable to planetary missions as well.”
“We are seeing that AI has opened the door on many difficult and what we technically term ‘unstructured’ problems,” he said. “But putting these solutions on-board is not trivial. We need to have a rigorous understanding of the design and performance factors that enable reliable deployment in an unforgiving environment like space.”
Barad predicts that the new generation of space engineers will accelerate adoption of these breakthrough technologies into orbit sooner than many expect and that the future is bright for space technology.
Talking about his optimism, Kuldeep paraphrased from the book on his desk, ‘The Worlds I see,’ by the renowned computer scientist Fei Fei Li: “the future might indeed be bright, but it wouldn’t turn out that way automatically. We have to earn it together.”
