A Relative Dynamics Formulation for Hardware- in-the-Loop Simulation of On-Orbit Robotic Missions

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel method for the on-ground simulation of a space robotic mission, while exploiting a robotic hardware-in-the-loop facility. The simulated dynamics replicated by the robots are defined with respect to a nominal motion. This approach enables simulating the motion of large satellites. In particular, we exploit a Lagrangian matching relative to the nominal motion for a satellite (client) and a manipulatorequipped spacecraft (servicer), which are modeled as a rigid body and a multi-body system, respectively. Stability of the proposed method is also analyzed. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated through experiments on the OOS-Sim facility for the capture of Envisat, a free-tumbling satellite and the largest space debris in Low-Earth-Orbit.

Robotic Wireless Energy Transfer in Dynamic Environments: System Design and Experimental Validation

“…The key feature of HIL is that all algorithms must be tested in close-to-reality simulators or real-world environments so as to make re-optimization possible [15]. For simulation, we adopt Gazebo [10], [12], a high-fidelity robotic evaluation platform that adopts Open Dynamics Engine for motion generation of the robots and Open Graphics Library Engine for the visualization of the world.…”

Robotic Wireless Energy Transfer in Dynamic Environments: System Design and Experimental Validation

“…The key feature of HIL is that algorithms are tested in close-to-reality simulators or real-world environments in order to make re-optimization possible [15]. For simulation, we adopt Gazebo [10,12], a high-fidelity robotic evaluation platform that adopts Open Dynamics Engine for motion generation of the robots and Open Graphics Library Engine for the visualization of the world.…”

Robotic Manipulation and Capture in Space: A Survey

“…The effectiveness of this approach was validated through DLR’s OOS-SIM hardware-in-the-loop simulator of a fully actuated orbital robot, while interacting with the environment. The dynamic shaping idea was also applied in De Stefano et al (2021) , where the OOS-SIM facility was used to simulate the relative motion between a very large tumbling target and a manipulator-equipped spacecraft. By exploiting a Lagrangian matching relative to a nominal motion, the simulated dynamics replicated by the robots enables motions of large satellites to be reproduced.…”

“…The results from Monte Carlo simulations showed that although the controller performed better in meeting the given velocity requirements, the nonlinear controller was usually able to achieve a stable and successful grasp in presence of contact. The nonlinear controller was also presented in detail in De Stefano et al (2021) , including results from experiments performed on DLR’s OOS-SIM experimental facility.…”