Project Systems Engineering for Developing Space Robots

Space robots possess unique distinguishing features unlike general robots on earth, due to the particular environments in space. The developing of various practical space robots promoting the improvement of space science and technology is a complex man-machine-environment engineering problem. This paper analyses from the systems engineering viewpoint the space robot system in the scope of the architecture of robotics discipline, space environment characteristics, man-machine-environment system of space robots, the general methodology of project systems engineering and the process of space robot systems engineering.

New self-calibration approach to space robots based on hand-eye vision

To overcome the influence of on-orbit extreme temperature environment on the tool pose(position and orientation) accuracy of a space robot,a new self-calibration method based on a measurement camera(hand-eye vision) attached to its end-effector was presented.Using the relative pose errors between the two adjacent calibration positions of the space robot,the cost function of the calibration was built,which was different from the conventional calibration method.The particle swarm optimization algorithm(PSO) was used to optimize the function to realize the geometrical parameter identification of the space robot.The above calibration method was carried out through self-calibration simulation of a six-DOF space robot whose end-effector was equipped with hand-eye vision.The results showed that after calibration there was a significant improvement of tool pose accuracy in a set of independent reference positions,which verified the feasibility of the method.At the same time,because it was unnecessary for this method to know the transformation matrix from the robot base to the calibration plate,it reduced the complexity of calibration model and shortened the error propagation chain,which benefited to improve the calibration accuracy.

Workspace,stiffness analysis and design optimization of coupled active-passive multilink cable-driven space robots for on-orbit services

The use of space robots(SRs)for on-orbit services(OOSs)has been a hot research topic in recent years.However,the space unstructured environment(i.e.:confined spaces,multiple obstacles,and strong radiation interference)has greatly restricted the application of SRs.The coupled active-passive multilink cable-driven space robot(CAP-MCDSR)has the characteristics of slim body,flexible movement,and electromechanical separation,which is very suitable for extreme space environments.However,the dynamic and stiffness modeling of CAP-MCDSRs is challenging,due to the complex coupling among the active cables,passive cables,joints,and the end-effector.To deal with these problems,this paper proposes a workspace,stiffness analysis and design optimization method for such type of MCDSRs.Firstly,the multi-coupling kinematics relationships among the joint,cables and the end-effector are established.Based on hybrid series-parallel characteristics,the improved coupled active–passive(CAP)dynamic equation is derived.Then,the maximum workspace,the maximum stiffness,and the minimum cable tension are resolved,among them,the overall stiffness is the superposition of the stiffness produced by the active and the passive cable.Furthermore,the workspace,the stiffness,and the cable tension are analyzed by using the nonlinear optimization method(NOPM).Finally,an 8-DOF CAP-MCDSR experiment system is built to verify the proposed modeling and trajectory tracking methods.The proposed modeling and analysis results are very useful for practical space applications,such as designing a new CAP-MCDSR,or utilizing an existing CAP-MCDSR system.

Task space control of free-floating space robots using constrained adaptive RBF-NTSM

Trajectory tracking control of space robots in task space is of great importance to space missions, which require on-orbit manipulations. This paper focuses on position and attitude tracking control of a tree-floating space robot in task space. Since nei- ther the nonlinear terms and parametric uncertainties of the dynamic model, nor the external disturbances are known, an adap- tive radial basis function network based nonsingular terminal sliding mode （RBF-NTSM） control method is presented. The proposed algorithm combines the nonlinear sliding manifold with the radial basis function to improve control performance. Moreover, in order to account for actuator physical constraints, a constrained adaptive RBF-NTSM, which employs a RBF network to compensate for the limited input is developed. The adaptive updating laws acquired by Lyapunov approach guar- antee the global stability of the control system and suppress chattering problems. Two examples are provided using a six-link free-floating space robot. Simulation results clearly demonstrate that the proposed constrained adaptive RBF-NTSM control method performs high precision task based on incomplete dynamic model of the space robots. In addition, the control errors converge faster and the chattering is eliminated comparing to traditional sliding mode control.

Dynamic modeling and beating phenomenon analysis of space robots with continuum manipulators

Space robotics has been used extensively in complex space missions. Rigid-manipulator space robots may suffer from rigid-body collisions with targets. This collision is likely to cause damage to the space robot and the target. To overcome such a problem, a novel ContinuumManipulator Space Robot(CMSR) for performing on-orbit servicing missions is proposed in this paper. Compared with rigid-manipulator space robots, CMSRs are able to perform compliant operations and avoid rigid-body collisions with a target. The CMSR consists of two kinds of flexible components, including solar arrays and continuum manipulators. The elastic vibrations of these flexible components disturb the position and attitude of CMSRs. The beating phenomenon introduced by the energy transfer among these flexible components can cause damage to solar arrays.The complicated dynamic coupling poses enormous challenges in dynamic modeling and vibration analysis. The dynamic model for CMSRs is derived and the mechanism of the beating phenomenon is analyzed in this paper. Simulation results show that an obvious beating phenomenon occurs and the amplitude of the solar arrays increases significantly when the natural frequencies of two kinds of flexible components are close. A method is provided to avoid the beating phenomenon.

Postcapture stabilization of space robots considering actuator failures with bounded torques

Space robotics is regarded as one of the most impressing approaches for space debris removal missions. Due to the residual momentum of debris, it is essential to stabilize the base rapidly after capture. This paper presents a novel control strategy for stabilization of a space robot in postcapture considering actuator failures and bounded torques. In the control strategy, the motion of the manipulator is not regarded as a disturbance to the base; in contrast, it is utilized to compensate for the limitation of the control torques by means of an inverse dynamical model of the system. Different scenarios where actuators are external mechanisms or momentum exchange devices have been carried out, and for actuator failures, both single-and two-actuator failures have been considered. Regarding to the performance of actuators, control torques are bounded. In cases that either single or two actuators have failed, the base can be stabilized kinematically when actuators are external mechanisms, but can only be stabilized dynamically when only momentum exchange devices are used. Finally, a space robot with a seven-degree-of-freedom manipulator in postcapture is studied to verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed control scheme. Simulation results show that the whole system can be stabilized rapidly.

Contact detumbling toward a nutating target through deformable effectors and prescribed performance controller

Detumbling operation toward a rotating target with nutation is meaningful for debris removal but challenging. In this study, a deformable end-effector is first designed based on the requirements for contacting the nutating target. A dual-arm robotic system installed with the deformable end-effectors is modeled and the movement of the end-tips is analyzed. The complex operation of the contact toward a nutating target places strict requirements on control accuracy and controller robustness. Thus, an improvement of the tracking error transformation is proposed and an adaptive sliding mode controller with prescribed performance is designed to guarantee the fast and precise motion of the effector during the contact detumbling.Finally, by employing the proposed effector and the controller,numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the contact detumbling toward a nutating target.

Dynamics and adaptive control of a dual-arm space robot with closed-loop constraints and uncertain inertial parameters

A dynamics-based adaptive control approach is proposed for a planar dual-arm space robot in the presence of closed-loop constraints and uncertain inertial parameters of the payload. The controller is capable of controlling the po- sition and attitude of both the satellite base and the payload grasped by the manipulator end effectors. The equations of motion in reduced-order form for the constrained system are derived by incorporating the constraint equations in terms of accelerations into Kane＇s equations of the unconstrained system. Model analysis shows that the resulting equations perfectly meet the requirement of adaptive controller design. Consequently, by using an indirect approach, an adaptive control scheme is proposed to accomplish position/attitude trajectory tracking control with the uncertain parameters be- ing estimated on-line. The actuator redundancy due to the closed-loop constraints is utilized to minimize a weighted norm of the joint torques. Global asymptotic stability is proven by using Lyapunov＇s method, and simulation results are also presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Spatial Operator Algebra for Free-floating Space Robot Modeling and Simulation

As the dynamic equations of space robots are highly nonlinear,strongly coupled and nonholonomic constrained,the efficiency of current dynamic modeling algorithms is difficult to meet the requirements of real-time simulation.This paper combines an efficient spatial operator algebra（SOA） algorithm for base fixed robots with the conservation of linear and angular momentum theory to establish dynamic equations for the free-floating space robot,and analyzes the influence to the base body＇s position and posture when the manipulator is capturing a target.The recursive Newton-Euler kinematic equations on screw form for the space robot are derived,and the techniques of the sequential filtering and smoothing methods in optimal estimation theory are used to derive an innovation factorization and inverse of the generalized mass matrix which immediately achieve high computational efficiency.The high efficient SOA algorithm is spatially recursive and has a simple math expression and a clear physical understanding,and its computational complexity grows only linearly with the number of degrees of freedom.Finally,a space robot with three degrees of freedom manipulator is simulated in Matematica 6.0.Compared with ADAMS,the simulation reveals that the SOA algorithm is much more efficient to solve the forward and inverse dynamic problems.As a result,the requirements of real-time simulation for dynamics of free-floating space robot are solved and a new analytic modeling system is established for free-floating space robot.

Adaptive fault-tolerant control based on boundary estimation for space robot under joint actuator faults and uncertain parameters

Since the joint actuator of the space robot executes the control instructions frequently in the harsh space environment,it is prone to the partial loss of control effectiveness(PLCE)fault.An adaptive fault-tolerant control algorithm is designed for a space robot system with the uncertain parameters and the PLCE actuator faults.The mathematical model of the system is established based on the Lagrange method,and the PLCE actuator fault is described as an effectiveness factor.The lower bound of the effectiveness factors and the upper bound of the uncertain parameters are estimated by an adaptive strategy,and the estimated value is fed back to the control algorithm.Compared with the traditional fault-tolerant algorithms,the proposed algorithm does not need to predetermine the lower bound of the effectiveness factor,hence it is more in line with the actual engineering application.It is proved that the algorithm can guarantee the stability of the closed-loop system based on the Lyapunov function method.The numerical simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can not only compensate for the uncertain parameters,but also can tolerate the PLCE actuator faults effectively,which verifies the effectiveness and superiority of the control scheme.

Impedance control of multi-arm space robot for the capture of non-cooperative targets

Robotic systems are expected to play an increasingly important role in future space activities. The robotic on-orbital service, whose key is the capturing technology, becomes a research hot spot in recent years. This paper studies the dynamics modeling and impedance control of a multi-arm free-flying space robotic system capturing a non-cooperative target. Firstly, a control-oriented dynamics model is essential in control algorithm design and code realization. Unlike a numerical algorithm, an analytical approach is suggested. Using a general and a quasi-coordinate Lagrangian formulation, the kinematics and dynamics equations are derived.Then, an impedance control algorithm is developed which allows coordinated control of the multiple manipulators to capture a target.Through enforcing a reference impedance, end-effectors behave like a mass-damper-spring system fixed in inertial space in reaction to any contact force between the capture hands and the target. Meanwhile, the position and the attitude of the base are maintained stably by using gas jet thrusters to work against the manipulators' reaction. Finally, a simulation by using a space robot with two manipulators and a free-floating non-cooperative target is illustrated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Kinematics of a Trinal-Branch Space Robotic Manipulator with Redundancy

This paper presents a trinal-branch space robotic manipulator with redundancy, due to hash application environments, such as in the station. One end-effector of the manipulator can be attached to the base, and other two be controlled to accomplish tasks. The manipulator permits operation of science payload, during periods when astronauts may not be present. In order to provide theoretic basis for kinematics optimization, dynamics optimization and fault-tolerant control, its inverse kinematics is analyzed by using screw theory, and its unified formulation is established. Base on closed-form resolution of spherical wrist, a simplified inverse kinematics is proposed. Computer simulation results demonstrate the validity of the proposed inverse kinematics.

The Fuzzy Neural Network Control Scheme With H∞ Tracking Characteristic of Space Robot System With Dual-arm After Capturing a Spin Spacecraft

In this paper,the dynamic evolution for a dualarm space robot capturing a spacecraft is studied,the impact effect and the coordinated stabilization control problem for postimpact closed chain system are discussed.At first,the pre-impact dynamic equations of open chain dual-arm space robot are established by Lagrangian approach,and the dynamic equations of a spacecraft are obtained by Newton-Euler method.Based on the results,with the process of integral and simplify,the response of the dual-arm space robot impacted by the spacecraft is analyzed by momentum conservation law and force transfer law.The closed chain system is formed in the post-impact phase.Closed chain constraint equations are obtained by the constraints of closed-loop geometry and kinematics.With the closed chain constraint equations,the composite system dynamic equations are derived.Secondly,the recurrent fuzzy neural network control scheme is designed for calm motion of unstable closed chain system with uncertain system parameter.In order to overcome the effects of uncertain system inertial parameters,the recurrent fuzzy neural network is used to approximate the unknown part,the control method with H∞tracking characteristic.According to the Lyapunov theory,the global stability is demonstrated.Meanwhile,the weighted minimum-norm theory is introduced to distribute torques guarantee that cooperative operation between manipulators.At last,numerical examples simulate the response of the collision,and the efficiency of the control scheme is verified by the simulation results.

Feedback Attitude Sliding Mode Regulation Control of Spacecraft Using Arm Motion

The problem of spacecraft attitude regulation based on the reaction of arm motion has attracted extensive attentions from both engineering and academic fields.Most of the solutions of the manipulator’s motion tracking problem just achieve asymptotical stabilization performance,so that these controllers cannot realize precise attitude regulation because of the existence of non-holonomic constraints.Thus,sliding mode control algorithms are adopted to stabilize the tracking error with zero transient process.Due to the switching effects of the variable structure controller,once the tracking error reaches the designed hyper-plane,it will be restricted to this plane permanently even with the existence of external disturbances.Thus,precise attitude regulation can be achieved.Furthermore,taking the non-zero initial tracking errors and chattering phenomenon into consideration,saturation functions are used to replace sign functions to smooth the control torques.The relations between the upper bounds of tracking errors and the controller parameters are derived to reveal physical characteristic of the controller.Mathematical models of free-floating space manipulator are established and simulations are conducted in the end.The results show that the spacecraft’s attitude can be regulated to the position as desired by using the proposed algorithm,the steady state error is 0.000 2 rad.In addition,the joint tracking trajectory is smooth,the joint tracking errors converges to zero quickly with a satisfactory continuous joint control input.The proposed research provides a feasible solution for spacecraft attitude regulation by using arm motion,and improves the precision of the spacecraft attitude regulation.

Nonlinear dynamics and coupling effect of libration and vibration of tethered space robot in deorbiting process

In order to control the growth of space debris,a novel tethered space robot(TSR) was put forward.After capture,the platform,tether,and target constituted a tethered combination system.General nonlinear dynamics of the tethered combination system in the post-capture phase was established with the consideration of the attitudes of two spacecrafts and the quadratic nonlinear elasticity of the tether.The motion law of the tethered combination in the deorbiting process with different disturbances was simulated and discussed on the premise that the platform was only controlled by a constant thrust force.It is known that the four motion freedoms of the tethered combination are coupled with each other in the deorbiting process from the simulation results.A noticeable phenomenon is that the tether longitudinal vibration does not decay to vanish even under the large tether damping with initial attitude disturbances due to the coupling effect.The approximate analytical solutions of the dynamics for a simplified model are obtained through the perturbation method.The condition of the inter resonance phenomenon is the frequency ratio λ_1=2.The case study shows good accordance between the analytical solutions and numerical results,indicating the effectiveness and correctness of approximate analytical solutions.

Singular perturbation composite control of a free-floating flexible dual-arm space robot

The Free-floating Flexible Dual-arm Space Robot is a highly nonlinear and coupled dynamics system. In this paper, the dynamic model is derived of a Free-floating Flexible Dual-arm Space Robot holding a rigid payload. Furthermore, according to the singular perturbation method, the system is separated into a slow subsystem representing rigid body motion of the robot and a fast subsystem representing the flexible link dynamics. For the slow subsystem, based on the second method of Lyapunov, using simple quantitative bounds on the model uncertainties, a robust tracking controller design is used during the trajectory tracking phase. The optimal control method is designed in the fast subsystem to guarantee the exponential stability. With the combination of the two above, the system can track the expected trajectory accurately, even though with uncertainty in model parameters, and its flexible vibration gets suppressed, too. Finally, some simulation tests have been conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Enhancing pose accuracy of space robot by improved differential evolution

Due to the intense vibration durirLg launching and rigorous orbital temperature environment, the kinematic parameters of space robot may be largely deviated from their nominal parameters. The disparity will cause the real pose （including position and orientation） of the end effector not to match the desired one, and further hinder the space robot from performing the scheduled mission. To improve pose accuracy of space robot, a new self-calibration method using the distance measurement provided by a laser-ranger fixed on the end-effector is proposed. A distance-measurement model of the space robot is built according to the distance from the starting point of the laser beam to the intersection point at the declining plane. Based on the model, the cost function about the pose error is derived. The kinematic calibration is transferred to a non-linear system optimization problem, which is solved by the improved differential evolution （DE） algoritlun. A six-degree of freedom （6-DOF） robot is used as a practical simulation example, and the simulation results show： 1） A significant improvement of pose accuracy of space robot can be obtained by distance measurement only; 2） Search efficiency is increased by improved DE; 3） More calibration configurations may make calibration results better.

Adaptive neural network control for coordinated motion of a dual-arm space robot system with uncertain parameters

Control of coordinated motion between the base attitude and the arm joints of a free-floating dual-arm space robot with uncertain parameters is discussed. By combining the relation of system linear momentum conversation with the Lagrangian approach, the dynamic equation of a robot is established. Based on the above results, the free-floating dual-arm space robot system is modeled with RBF neural networks, the GL matrix and its product operator. With all uncertain inertial system parameters, an adaptive RBF neural network control scheme is developed for coordinated motion between the base attitude and the arm joints. The proposed scheme does not need linear parameterization of the dynamic equation of the system and any accurate prior-knowledge of the actual inertial parameters. Also it does not need to train the neural network offline so that it would present real-time and online applications. A planar free-floating dual-arm space robot is simulated to show feasibility of the proposed scheme.

Robust chattering-free sliding mode control of space robot in task space

This paper studies the tracking control problem of a free-floating space robot in a task space. Considering the model uncertainties and external disturbance, a robust sliding mode controller is proposed using the Lyapunov direct method and dissipative theory. To eliminate the chattering phenomenon, an radial basis function （RBF） neural network is applied to replace the discontinuous part of the control signal. A novel on-line learning method of the weights and parameters of the RBF neural network established using Lyapunov function assures the stability of the system. It is proved that the proposed controller can guarantee that the L2 gain from disturbance to tracking error is lower than the given index y. Simulation results show that the control method is valid.

The collision-free trajectory planning for the space robot to capture a target based on the wavelet interpolation algorithm

In the research of path planning for manipulators with many DOF, generally there is a problem in most traditional methods, which is that their computational cost (time and memory space) increases exponentially as DOF or resolution of the discrete configuration space increases. So this paper presents the collision-free trajectory planning for the space robot to capture a target based on the wavelet interpolation algorithm. We made wavelet sample on the desired trajectory of the manipulator’s end-effector to do trajectory planning by use of the proposed wavelet interpolation formula, and then derived joint vectors from the trajectory information of the end-effector based on the fixed-attitude-restrained generalized Jacobian matrix of multi-arm coordinated motion, so as to control the manipulator to capture a static body along the desired collision-free trajectory. The method overcomes the shortcomings of the typical methods, and the desired trajectory of the end-effector can be any kind of complex nonlinear curve. The algorithm is simple and highly effective and the real trajectory is close to the desired trajectory. In simulation, the planar dual-arm three DOF space robot is used to demonstrate the proposed method, and it shows that the algorithm is feasible.