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A Ground Experiment System of Free-floating Robot For Capturing Space Target

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Abstract

Technology for the capturing of space target is very important for on-orbit servicing. In order to assure the task is accomplished successfully, ground experimentations are required for the verification of the planning and control algorithms of space robotic system before it is launched. In this paper, an experiment concept is used, which is a hybrid approach, i.e. it combines the mathematical model with the physical model. The key issues of the concept are dynamic emulation and kinematic equivalence, in which the behaviors of the space robotic system are calculated by its dynamic equations. The motion of its end-effector and the space target is realized by two industrial robots. According to different observation spots, two modes of capturing process are emulated: one is observed from the inertial frame, the other is from the space base. Based on the concept proposed above, a ground experiment system is set up, which is composed of two industrial robots, a set of global visual system and five industrial computers. Using the system, algorithms of space robot of any geometry and mass properties can be tested. As an example, the autonomous trajectory planning algorithm is verified by the experiment of capturing a moving target. Moreover, a real-time 3D simulation system is developed to emulate the capturing process in 3D space. Numeric simulation and experiment results show that the ground system is effective in evaluating the planning and control algorithms of space robot.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr P. F. Huang and Dr Y. Liu for their valuable suggestion on the paper. This work is supported by Chinese High-Tech Program in Aerospace.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Control Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, People’s Republic of China

    Wenfu Xu, Bin Liang, Cheng Li & Wenyi Qiang

  2. Department of Automation and Computer-aided Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Yangsheng Xu

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  1. Wenfu Xu
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  2. Bin Liang
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  3. Yangsheng Xu
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  4. Cheng Li
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  5. Wenyi Qiang
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Correspondence to Wenfu Xu.

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Xu, W., Liang, B., Xu, Y. et al. A Ground Experiment System of Free-floating Robot For Capturing Space Target. J Intell Robot Syst 48, 187–208 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-006-9087-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-006-9087-8

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