Motion Planning for the On-orbit Grasping of a Non-cooperative Target Satellite with Collision Avoidance

A method for grasping a tumbling noncooperative target is presented, which is based on nonlinear optimization and collision avoidance. Motion constraints on the robot joints as well as on the end-effector forces are considered. Cost functions of interest address the robustness of the planned solutions during the tracking phase as well as actuation energy. The method is applied in simulation to different operational scenarios

Advances in Spacecraft Attitude Control

Spacecraft attitude maneuvers comply with Euler's moment equations, a set of three nonlinear, coupled differential equations. Nonlinearities complicate the mathematical treatment of the seemingly simple action of rotating, and these complications lead to a robust lineage of research. This book is meant for basic scientifically inclined readers, and commences with a chapter on the basics of spaceflight and leverages this remediation to reveal very advanced topics to new spaceflight enthusiasts. The topics learned from reading this text will prepare students and faculties to investigate interesting spaceflight problems in an era where cube satellites have made such investigations attainable by even small universities. It is the fondest hope of the editor and authors that readers enjoy this book

Robotic Assembly Using a Singularity-Free Orientation Representation Based on Quaternions

New robotic applications often require physical interaction between the robot and its environment. To this purpose, external sensors might be needed, as well as a suitable way to specify the tasks. One complication that might cause problems in the task execution is orientation representation singularities. In this paper quaternions are used as a singularity-free orientation representation within the constraint-based task specification framework. The approach is experimentally verified in a force controlled assembly task. The task chosen contains a redundant degree of freedom that is exploited using the constraint-based task specification framework

An approach to CMG steering using feedback linearization

This paper presents an approach for controlling spacecraft equipped with control moment gyroscopes. A technique from feedback linearization theory is used to transform the original nonlinear problem to an equivalent linear form without approximating assumptions. In this form, the spacecraft dynamics appear linearly, and are decoupled from redundancy in the system of gyroscopes. A general approach to distributing control effort among the available actuators is described which includes provisions for redistribution of rotors, explicit bounds in gimbal rates, and guaranteed operation at or near singular configurations. A particular algorithm is developed for systems of double-gimbal devices, and demonstrated in two examples for which existing approaches fail to give adequate performance

Kinematics and Robot Design I, KaRD2018

This volume collects the papers published on the Special Issue “Kinematics and Robot Design I, KaRD2018” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/robotics/special_issues/KARD), which is the first issue of the KaRD Special Issue series, hosted by the open access journal “MDPI Robotics”. The KaRD series aims at creating an open environment where researchers can present their works and discuss all the topics focused on the many aspects that involve kinematics in the design of robotic/automatic systems. Kinematics is so intimately related to the design of robotic/automatic systems that the admitted topics of the KaRD series practically cover all the subjects normally present in well-established international conferences on “mechanisms and robotics”. KaRD2018 received 22 papers and, after the peer-review process, accepted only 14 papers. The accepted papers cover some theoretical and many design/applicative aspects

Advances in Spacecraft Attitude Control

Spacecraft attitude maneuvers comply with Euler's moment equations, a set of three nonlinear, coupled differential equations. Nonlinearities complicate the mathematical treatment of the seemingly simple action of rotating, and these complications lead to a robust lineage of research. This book is meant for basic scientifically inclined readers, and commences with a chapter on the basics of spaceflight and leverages this remediation to reveal very advanced topics to new spaceflight enthusiasts. The topics learned from reading this text will prepare students and faculties to investigate interesting spaceflight problems in an era where cube satellites have made such investigations attainable by even small universities. It is the fondest hope of the editor and authors that readers enjoy this book

Task space consensus in networks of heterogeneous and uncertain robotic systems with variable time-delays

This work deals with the leader-follower and the leaderless consensus problems in networks of multiple robot manipulators. The robots are non-identical, kinematically different (heterogeneous), and their physical parameters are uncertain. The main contribution of this work is a novel controller that solves the two consensus problems, in the task space, with the following features: it estimates the kinematic and the dynamic physical parameters; it is robust to interconnecting variable-time delays; it employs the singularity-free unit-quaternions to represent the orientation; and, using energy-like functions, the controller synthesis follows a constructive procedure. Simulations using a network with four heterogeneous manipulators illustrate the performance of the proposed controller.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft