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Motion control matters for manipulation in space

In this downloadable issue of The Robot Report, also in print as an insert to sibling publication Design World, we look at some of the cutting-edge applications of actuation, motor, and motion control technologies in robotics.

First up, Associate Editor Brianna Wessling delves into PickNik Inc.’s partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The partners have developed a multi-arm system for complex manipulation tasks in microgravity. Read about how it could help with cargo handling for the International Space Station (ISS), as well as future crewed and uncrewed missions.

Of course, PickNik’s MoveIt Pro also has uses in terrestrial applications in addition to governmental and commercial space efforts.

Spot dances on live TV

Also in this issue, Executive Editor Steve Crowe examines the challenges that Boston Dynamics faced in bringing its Spot quadruped to NBC’s America’s Got Talent (AGT). A few minutes of nationally televised entertainment required both teleoperated and autonomous operations and crack choreography.

Boston Dynamics also shares how its team turned a malfunction into a relatable moment for the judges and audience. The innovations not only demonstrated the talent of the company’s engineers, but also the growing potential of robotics in commercial and industrial settings.

Editor’s note: Learn more about motion control at RoboBusiness, the premiere event for developers and suppliers of commercial robotics. It will be on Oct. 15 and 16 in Santa Clara, Calif., and will feature informative keynotes, more than 100 exhibitors, multiple networking opportunities, and sessions in the following tracks:

• Physical AI Forum (new for 2025)
• Enabling Technologies
• Humanoids (new for 2025)
• Field Robotics (expanded for 2025)
• Design & Development
• Business

Registration is now open!

SALT LAKE CITY — A year after announcing plans to offer rideshare missions to geostationary orbit, Impulse Space says the demand has been strong enough to plan an annual series of them.

At last year’s Small Satellite Conference, Impulse Space said it would offer rideshare missions to GEO using its high-energy Helios orbital transfer vehicle under development. The company said it was prompted to offer the service by the number of “microGEO” spacecraft under development with masses of one ton or less.

“We’re going to gauge the demand and see if it’s real,” Tom Mueller, founder and chief executive of Impulse Space, said at the time.

A year later, Impulse has concluded the demand is real. “Twelve months ago, we got up here and we were saying that we think there is a market for GEO rideshare,” said Joshua Rea, director of commercial sales at Impulse, during an Aug. 12 presentation at the Small Satellite Conference here. “Twelve months on, there’s a real market need.”

That GEO rideshare service, which Impulse Space recently named Caravan, will involve an annual series of dedicated Falcon 9 launches of Helios, currently planned for the third quarter of each year. The first mission, Caravan 1, is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026 and is fully booked. Caravan 2 will follow in 2027 and Caravan 3 in 2028.

The missions will use the Helios vehicle to rapidly transfer from an initial low Earth orbit to GEO. One burn shortly after payload deployment puts Helios into a geostationary transfer orbit, while a second about six hours later circularizes the orbit just above GEO. Payload deployment takes place eight hours after launch.

The payloads will be dropped off about 500 kilometers above GEO, allowing payloads to drift at a rate of about five degrees per day to reach their desired orbital slot and then lower themselves into GEO. After deployment, Impulse will then move Helios into a higher graveyard orbit and passivate it.

That process, Rea said, is intended to address any space safety issues about GEO satellite deployments. “It’s important for us to be a responsible operator.”

The Caravan program is modeled on SpaceX’s popular rideshare missions for satellites going to LEO, including form factors and attachment ports. “Essentially, if you are designing your spacecraft for the SpaceX rideshare program today, it is more than likely that you are going to be compatible with ours,” he said.

A standard dispenser plate is available, with 300 kilograms of payload included and the ability to go to payloads as heavy as 700 kilograms. A larger heavy dispenser plate includes 700 kilograms of payload and can support payloads weighing up to 1,400 kilograms. The heavy plates, Rea said, should be able to accommodate most microGEO spacecraft.

Each Caravan mission will be able to carry up to four tons of payloads. The company expects to take between 18 and 24 months from contract signing with a rideshare customer to launch of that customer’s payload.

Rea said that Impulse offers “very clear and transparent” pricing for Caravan missions based on payload mass, but didn’t disclose specific prices. “I think you will be hard-pressed to find any other price that’s competitive with this for direct to GEO.”

Related

Combining alpelisib (Piqray) with olaparib (Lynparza) did not improve progression-free survival (PFS) vs chemotherapy among patients with platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) without a BRCA mutation, according to findings from the phase 3 EPIK-O/ENGOT-ov61 trial (NCT04729387) published in Journal of Clinical Oncology.¹

Based on blinded independent review committee (BIRC) assessment, the median PFS was 3.6 months (95% CI, 3.4-4.3) with the alpelisib combination vs 3.9 months (95% CI, 3.7-5.4) with chemotherapy (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.88-1.48; P = .84). Additionally, the median PFS was 3.7 months in both arms based on investigator evaluation (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.79-1.30; P = .54).

Data revealed an objective response rate (ORR) of 15.6% (95% CI, 10.6%-21.7%) in the experimental arm vs 13.5% (95% CI, 8.8%-19.4%) in the comparator arm. The clinical benefit rate (CBR) was 21.1% vs 19.1% in each respective arm, and the median duration of response (DOR) was 7.4 months (95% CI, 5.0-12.9) vs 5.6 months (95% CI, 3.8-not evaluable [NE]).

Due to the trial being unable to demonstrate statistical significance for PFS, investigators did not formally evaluate overall survival (OS). The median OS was 10.0 months with alpelisib/olaparib vs 10.6 months with chemotherapy (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.87-1.71), and OS events occurred in 41.7% vs 35.4% of each arm.

“[T]his protocol-specified final PFS analysis of EPIK-O/ENGOT-ov61 did not meet its primary efficacy end point of PFS improvement with alpelisib [plus] olaparib vs treatment of physician’s choice [TPC] in patients with platinum-resistant [or] platinum-refractory HGSOC with no BRCA mutation,” lead study author Panagiotis A. Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, director of the Mellen and Eisenson Family Center for BRCA and Related Genes and director of Translational Research in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, wrote with coauthors in the publication.¹ “Additional treatment strategies are being explored in platinum-resistant HGSOC, and additional research into novel targeted therapies is warranted to address the unmet needs in this patient population.”

In the multicenter, open-label EPIK-O trial, 358 patients were randomly assigned to receive alpelisib plus olaparib (n = 180) or TPC (n = 178). Patients in the experimental arm received alpelisib at 200 mg orally once daily plus olaparib at 200 mg once daily in each 28-day cycle. Treatment in the TPC arm consisted of paclitaxel at 80 mg/m² intravenously once weekly or pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) at 40 to 50 mg/m² once every 28 days.

The trial’s primary end point was PFS per BIRC using RECIST v1.1 criteria. Secondary end points included OS, DOR, CBR, and safety.

Patients 18 to 100 years old with histologically confirmed high-grade serous high-grade endometrioid ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal cancer were eligible for enrollment on the trial.² Additional eligibility criteria included having no germline BRCA1/2 mutations, an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1, platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory disease, and adequate bone marrow and organ function.

The median age was 61 years (range, 32-81) in the alpelisib/olaparib arm and 61 years (range, 37-84) in the TPC arm. Most patients in each respective arm had an ECOG performance status of 0 (63.9% vs 61.2%), no ascites (78.3% vs 83.1%), serous adenocarcinoma histology (92.2% vs 97.2%), intra-abdominal disease (85.0% vs 87.1%), 1 metastatic site (40.6% vs 44.4%), and measurable disease (90.6% vs 86.5%). Additionally, a majority in each arm had no prior treatment with PARP inhibitors (66.7% vs 62.9%), although most were previously treated with bevacizumab (Avastin; 80.6% vs 78.7%).

Adverse effects (AEs) of any grade affected 98.9% of the alpelisib arm and 97.6% of the chemotherapy arm, with serious AEs occurring in 51.1% and 30.5%, respectively. The most common types of any-grade AEs in each arm included nausea (61.7% vs 31.7%), hyperglycemia (52.2% vs 3.7%), vomiting (41.1% vs 20.7%), and diarrhea (41.1% vs 18.3%). Grade 3 or higher AEs in each arm included hyperglycemia (18.9% vs 0%), vomiting (10.0% vs 1.2%), nausea (9.4% vs 1.2%), and anemia (7.2% vs 4.9%).

Dose reductions for alpelisib, olaparib, and TPC, occurred in 36.7%, 45.6%, and 20.1% of patients, respectively; dose interruptions were necessary in 66.7%, 52.8%, and 20.1%. Additionally, 14.4% and 4.3% of patients in the alpelisib and TPC arms experienced on-treatment deaths. One patient in the alpelisib/olaparib arm had a treatment-related fatal serious AE.

References

1. Konstantinopoulos PA, Kim JW, Freyer G, et al. Alpelisib plus olaparib versus chemotherapy in platinum-resistant or platinum-refractory high-grade serous ovarian cancer without BRCA mutation. J Clin Oncol. Published online July 23, 2025. doi:10.1200/JCO-25-00225
2. Alpelisib plus olaparib in platinum-resistant/​refractory, high-grade serous ovarian cancer, with no germline BRCA mutation detected. ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated February 12, 2025. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/2ka8xx4v