Recent Developments in the Design, Capabilities and Autonomous Operations of a Lightweight Surface Manipulation System and Test-bed

Abstract

The first generation of a versatile high performance device for performing payload handling and assembly operations on planetary surfaces, the Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS), has been designed and built. Over the course of its development, conventional crane type payload handling configurations and operations have been successfully demonstrated and the range of motion, types of operations and the versatility greatly expanded. This enhanced set of 1 st generation LSMS hardware is now serving as a laboratory test-bed allowing the continuing development of end effectors, operational techniques and remotely controlled and automated operations. This paper describes the most recent LSMS and test-bed development activities, that have focused on two major efforts. The first effort was to complete a preliminary design of the 2 nd generation LSMS that has the capability for limited mobility and can reposition itself between lander decks, mobility chassis, and fixed base locations. A major portion of this effort involved conducting a study to establish the feasibility of, and define, the specifications for a lightweight cable-drive waist joint. The second effort was to continue expanding the versatility and autonomy of large planetary surface manipulators using the 1 st generation LSMS as a test-bed. This has been accomplished by increasing manipulator capabilities and efficiencies through both design changes and tool and end effector development. A software development effort has expanded the operational capabilities of the LSMS test-bed to include; autonomous operations based on stored paths, use of a vision system for target acquisition and tracking, and remote command and control over a communications bridge.

Precise truss assembly using commodity parts and low precision welding

“…Future work will be geared toward building a full-scale, 3D telescope optical bench. We will extend the IPJR concept to higher precision using appropriate sensors, actuators, and connection mechanisms, and will replace the human operator by a remote controlled robot arm [13], making the system fully autonomous. The wooden parts will be replaced by node balls having a precise reference point (the mirror attachment point), and the struts will be replaced by telescoping tubes that can be welded shut when finalized.…”

Truss assembly and welding by Intelligent Precision Jigging Robots

“…The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) is a long-reach manipulator designed to operate on planetary surfaces, intended to manipulate large objects in preparation for a manned landing [3]. It is 4.25 m tall and has a reach of 8.5 m. By itself, the LSMS provides precision on the order of mm, which is not sufficient to construct trusses at the precision demanded by space telescopes.…”

“…Struts and nodes are made of titanium. The external manipulator is the Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) [3], which is tele-operated in the experiment described in this paper, and is used to weld the struts to the nodes, and maneuver the IPJR triangle. Assembling structures in space has the potential to overcome payload limitations imposed by single-launch missions, thereby enabling the manufacturing of large and scalable structures.…”

A Survey of Lunar Cranes and Some Inspiration from the Perspective of Earth Crane Technology

“…Based on the first generation LSMS as a test bed, the researchers expanded the versatility and the autonomy of the LSMS, for example through changes in the design and development of tools and end effectors: [31] 1) New design for shoulder joint and its spreaders which increase the manipulator's range of motion, the additional third spreader increases the rotation range of the join, the offset fingers improve the stiffness of the joint, and the kingpost is able to tilt forward.…”