Cooperative control of modular space robots

Abstract

Modular self-assembling on-orbit robots have the potential to reduce mission costs, increase reliability, and permit on-orbit repair and refueling. Modules with a variety of specialized capabilities would self-assemble from orbiting inventories. The assembled modules would then share resources such as power and sensors. As each free-flying module carries its own attitude control actuators, the assembled system has substantial sensor and actuator redundancy. Sensor redundancy enables sensor fusion that reduces measurement error. Actuator redundancy gives a system greater flexibility in managing its fuel usage. In this paper, the control of self-assembling space robots is explored in simulations and experiments. Control and sensor algorithms are presented that exploit the sensor and actuator redundancy. The algorithms address the control challenges introduced by the dynamic interactions between modules, the distribution of fuel resources among modules, and plume impingement.

A Review of Robotics Technologies for On-Orbit Services

“…Such a method has been applied for testing the control algorithms of Japanese free-floating systems [196], and during the free-flying experiments at Stanford University [197]. All the major space companies and some research groups in academia own this kind of facilities such as the ones described in [198][199][200][201].…”

Mission Operations and Autonomy

“…Tasks can be divided and conquered among a team of robots, which can potentially complete more complex tasks than a single comprehensive robot. Existing R&D efforts have been made in promoting a multiple-tiered robotic system that combines the planetary orbiter, aerobot, and surface rover [96,97], or the cooperative rovers with high LoA working together toward common mission goals [98], or the fractional robots that can physically combine to gain increased capabilities being together [99].…”

Laboratory experiments of resident space object capture by a spacecraft–manipulator system

“…The scarcity of suitable test facilities to recreate the complex dynamic phenomena [4,5] has made the equivalent experimental-based work exceedingly rare [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”