Georgia Tech Space Research Institute
Engineering Space for Everyone
Advancing human-centered space exploration through universal design, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems.
Accessibility is not simply an accommodation for disability. It is an engineering principle that improves human performance, operational resilience, and safety throughout space exploration.
About Benjamin Manning, Ph.D.
- Georgia Institute of TechnologyResearch Faculty & Senior Research Technologist
- Lockheed Martin AeronauticsSenior Data Scientist
- Ph.D., Computer EngineeringAI, autonomous systems, and systems engineering
Engineering expertise informed by lived experience
- 30+ years in engineering, technology, research, and higher education
- 34+ years of lived experience with quadriplegia, shaping a perspective on accessibility and universal design
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Research interests
Human-centered AI, intelligent assistive technologies, multi-agent robotics, and autonomous space systems
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Active research
Lunar infrastructure, intelligent habitat systems, and trusted autonomous robotic swarms
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What drives the work
Engineering space environments and technologies that accommodate the full spectrum of human capabilities
Bringing together engineering expertise and lived experience to make the next frontier of human exploration more accessible, intelligent, and inclusive.
A research agenda in three pillars
Each pillar applies one idea — design for the full range of human capability — to a different layer of lunar exploration: the habitat, the technology that supports the crew, and the robots that build the base.
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Pillar 1
Accessible environments
Designing the habitat around diverse human capabilities Status: Conceptual framework -
Pillar 2
Intelligent human assistance
Adapting technology to support independence and performance Status: Translational research -
Pillar 3
Accessible autonomous operations
Extending human capability through trusted robotic systems Status: Simulation research
Status shows how mature each pillar is: conceptual frameworks, established research being translated to spaceflight, and documented simulation results.
Pillar 1 · Accessible environments Status: Conceptual framework
Designing Space for Humans
As humanity prepares for sustained habitation beyond Earth, universal design should be a foundational requirement of space habitat engineering, not an accommodation added after development.
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A requirement, not a retrofit
Universal design translated into measurable habitat requirements from the earliest design stage
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Physical access
Mobility, reach, manipulation, circulation, and emergency egress
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Cognitive & sensory access
Multimodal information, adaptable interfaces, and reduced cognitive burden
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Variable human performance
Fatigue, injury, partial gravity, tight spaces, and protective equipment — not an ideal operator
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Adaptive habitat (IHOS)
The Intelligent Habitat Operating System: context-aware sensing and AI adaptation, with human oversight, privacy, and safety
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Lived experience
Disability experience as an engineering input, alongside aerospace and rehabilitation engineering
We have an opportunity to design humanity's next home without repeating the accessibility mistakes of our first.
Pillar 2 · Intelligent human assistance Status: Translational research
Engineering Intelligent Disability Technologies
Intelligent assistive technologies built for physical, cognitive, and sensory limitations can provide an engineering foundation for adaptive human-support systems in space.
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Sense
Multimodal sensing of human state and environmental context
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Decide
Sensor fusion, edge AI, and digital twins that anticipate needs
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Assist
Adaptive interventions under shared control that degrade gracefully
Translating to spaceflight
- Assistance under restricted dexterity, fatigue, stress, or injury
- Adaptive workstations and robotic help inside habitats
- Wearable, context-aware support during demanding operations
- Edge autonomy where communications and computing are constrained
Evaluated on independence, task completion, usability, workload, and safety.
Source: Engineering Intelligent Disability Technologies: AI, Robotics, and Human-Centered Systems for Independence
Pillar 3 · Accessible autonomous operations Status: Simulation research
Multi-Agent Swarms for Lunar Base Assembly
Trusted, interoperable robotic swarms can reduce dependence on physically demanding human operations during lunar infrastructure assembly, while maintaining human oversight, safety, and resilience.
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Coordinate
- Hierarchical orchestration, decentralized execution
- Resource-aware task allocation
- Cooperative excavation and inspection
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Trust
- Hardware-rooted identity and attestation
- Runtime safety policies
- ROS 2/DDS and semantic capability registries
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Power-aware
- Scheduling around solar forecasts and microgrid state
- Continuity under partial failures
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Human oversight
- Fewer physically demanding EVAs
- Accessible supervisory interfaces
- Adjustable autonomy and multimodal feedback
Digital-twin validation
Simulated lunar terrain, regolith, illumination, and communications · excavation, trenching, and assembly scenarios · measured on task completion, energy, resilience, and safety.
Autonomous robotic systems can extend human capabilities, reduce physical demands, and make lunar exploration safer and more accessible.
Let's build the next frontier together
Exploring opportunities for research collaboration with industry, government, and academic partners.
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Universal design for lunar habitats and space infrastructure
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Intelligent assistive technology for astronaut support and performance
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Human-centered autonomy and robotic assistance
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Trusted multi-agent systems for lunar construction and operations
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Digital-twin evaluation of lunar construction scenarios
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Joint research, demonstrations, and industry–academic collaboration
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Benjamin Manning, Ph.D.
Georgia Tech Space Research Institute
Engineering space for everyone: combining universal design, intelligent assistance, and trusted autonomy to advance the future of human space exploration.