Inter-Island Demonstration of optical Communication Links in Robotic Operations

Abstract

Robotic operations in space with telepresence systems require high data rates for sensor and video feedback in combination with very low delays for precise and transparent control. The ESA funded project HiCLASS-ROS (Highly Compact Laser Communication Systems for Robotic Operations Support) demonstrated the use of optical communication links for symmetrical and bi-directional high data rate links in combination with low-latency channel coding for very low round trip times comparable to a LEO scenario. With the use of the Micro Laser Terminal, designed for airborne applications, of ViaLight Communications and the Transportable Optical Ground Station of DLR, the requirements defined by DLR’s Robotics and Mechatronics Center have been verified in an inter-island demonstration campaign on the Canary Islands. This paper gives an overview of the robotic scenario, experiment setup and measurement results for data rate, throughput, bit error rate, packet error rate and round trip times.