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Adriana Daca

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4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109

Dr. Adriana Daca

Robotics Technologist

Biography

Adriana Daca is a Robotics Technologist in the Robotic Mobility group. Her work ranges from mobility concepts for future rovers to robotic sampling and manipulation systems. She completed her PhD at Concordia University in 2023, where she studied wheel–soil interactions in reduced gravity and 1-g testing methods to more accurately predict reduced-gravity rover mobility. During her PhD, Adriana performed experiments aboard parabolic flights producing effective lunar gravity and worked at JPL as a visiting researcher, where she supported the design and testing of mobility systems for potential future lunar and Mars rovers. Prior to her PhD, Adriana worked in engineering support for International Space Station robotics.

Education

PhD, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Concordia University, 2023
MASc, Aerospace Engineering, University of Toronto, 2015
B.Eng.BioSci, Chemical Engineering & Bioengineering, McMaster Unviersity, 2013

Professional Experience

Robotics Technologist, JPL, 2023–present
Visiting Researcher, JPL, 2021–2022
Member of Technical Staff, MDA, 2016–2018

Research Interests

Surface mobility, terramechanics, microgravity mobility, wheels, mobility testing methods

Publications

2024
  1. A. Daca, D. Loret de Mola Lemus, S. Backus, and R. Mukherjee, "Concept and Validation of Autonomous Robotic Assembly of Antenna from ESPA Class Spacecraft," 2024 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, USA, 02 March 2024.
  2. M. Ono, R. Thakker, N. Georgiev, P. Gavrilov, A. Archanian, T. Drevinskas, G. Daddi, M. Paton, H. Melikyan, T. Pailevanian, C. Lopez, E. Ambrose, B. Jones, L. Tosi, M. Gildner, B. Hockman, D. Loret de Mola Lemus, D. Pastor Moreno, T. Hasseler, Y. Kumar Nakka, E. Marteau, B. Nuernberger, M. Peticco, M. Cable, P. Proenca, M. Malaska, J. Bowkett, A. Jasour, M. Ingham, J. Nash, D. Balentine, A. Barchowsky, F. Bevreng, K. Botteon, M. Caballero, K. Carpenter, M. Chodas, A. Daca, J. Feldman, A. Gardner, A. Goddu, A. Jain, C. Jin, M. Khanum, R. Kornfeld, G. Mark, B. Morrell, J. Naish, W. Reid and R. Etheredge, "To Boldly Go Where No Robots Have Gone Before – Part 1: EELS Robot to Spearhead a New One-Shot Exploration Paradigm with In-situ Adaptation," AIAA Scitech 2024 Forum, Orlando, Florida, USA, pp. 1-23, 08 January 2024.
2023
  1. Arthur Bouton, William Reid, Travis Brown, Adriana Daca, Mielad Sabzehi, and Hari Nayar, "Experimental Study of Alternative Rover Configurations and Mobility Modes for Planetary Exploration," 2023 IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MT, USA, pp. 1-13, 04 March 2023.