247 research outputs found
Towards Designing a Credible Hazardous NEA Mitigation Campaign of Dual-deflection Act
Given a limited warning time, an asteroid impact mitigation campaign would hinge on uncertainty-based information consisting of remote observational data of the identified Earth-threatening object, general knowledge on near-Earth asteroids, and engineering judgment. Due to these ambiguities, the campaign credibility could be profoundly compromised. It is therefore imperative to comprehensively evaluate the inherent uncertainty in deflection and plan the campaign accordingly to ensure successful mitigation. This research demonstrates dual-deflection mitigation campaigns consisting of primary and secondary deflection missions, where both deflection performance and campaign credibility are taken into consideration. The results of the dual-deflection campaigns show that there are trade-offs between the competing aspects: the total interceptor mass, interception time, deflection distance, and the confidence in deflection. The design approach is found to be useful for multi-deflection campaign planning, allowing us to select the best possible combination of deflection missions from a catalogue of various mitigation campaign options, without compromising the campaign credibility
Autonomous Robots for Active Removal of Orbital Debris
This paper presents a vision guidance and control method for autonomous
robotic capture and stabilization of orbital objects in a time-critical manner.
The method takes into account various operational and physical constraints,
including ensuring a smooth capture, handling line-of-sight (LOS) obstructions
of the target, and staying within the acceleration, force, and torque limits of
the robot. Our approach involves the development of an optimal control
framework for an eye-to-hand visual servoing method, which integrates two
sequential sub-maneuvers: a pre-capturing maneuver and a post-capturing
maneuver, aimed at achieving the shortest possible capture time. Integrating
both control strategies enables a seamless transition between them, allowing
for real-time switching to the appropriate control system. Moreover, both
controllers are adaptively tuned through vision feedback to account for the
unknown dynamics of the target. The integrated estimation and control
architecture also facilitates fault detection and recovery of the visual
feedback in situations where the feedback is temporarily obstructed. The
experimental results demonstrate the successful execution of pre- and
post-capturing operations on a tumbling and drifting target, despite multiple
operational constraints
Towards Designing a Credible Hazardous NEA Mitigation Campaign of Dual-deflection Act
Given a limited warning time, an asteroid impact mitigation campaign would hinge on uncertainty-based information consisting of remote observational data of the identified Earth-threatening object, general knowledge on near-Earth asteroids, and engineering judgment. Due to these ambiguities, the campaign credibility could be profoundly compromised. It is therefore imperative to comprehensively evaluate the inherent uncertainty in deflection and plan the campaign accordingly to ensure successful mitigation. This research demonstrates dual-deflection mitigation campaigns consisting of primary and secondary deflection missions, where both deflection performance and campaign credibility are taken into consideration. The results of the dual-deflection campaigns show that there are trade-offs between the competing aspects: the total interceptor mass, interception time, deflection distance, and the confidence in deflection. The design approach is found to be useful for multi-deflection campaign planning, allowing us to select the best possible combination of deflection missions from a catalogue of various mitigation campaign options, without compromising the campaign credibility
Multiple NEA Rendezvous Mission: Solar Sailing Options
The scientific interest in near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and the classification of some of those as potentially hazardous
asteroid for the Earth stipulated the interest in NEA exploration. Close-up observations of these objects will increase
drastically our knowledge about the overall NEA population. For this reason, a multiple NEA rendezvous mission through
solar sailing is investigated, taking advantage of the propellantless nature of this groundbreaking propulsion technology.
Considering a spacecraft based on the DLR/ESA Gossamer technology, this work focuses on the search of possible
sequences of NEA encounters. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated through a number of fully-optimized
trajectories. The results show that it is possible to visit five NEAs within 10 years with near-term solar-sail technology.
Moreover, a study on a reduced NEA database demonstrates the reliability of the approach used, showing that 58% of the
sequences found with an approximated trajectory model can be converted into real solar-sail trajectories. Lastly, this second
study shows the effectiveness of the proposed automatic optimization algorithm, which is able to find solutions for a large
number of mission scenarios without any input required from the user
Docking Haptics: Extending the Reach of Haptics by Dynamic Combinations of Grounded and Worn Devices
Grounded haptic devices can provide a variety of forces but have limited
working volumes. Wearable haptic devices operate over a large volume but are
relatively restricted in the types of stimuli they can generate. We propose the
concept of docking haptics, in which different types of haptic devices are
dynamically docked at run time. This creates a hybrid system, where the
potential feedback depends on the user's location. We show a prototype docking
haptic workspace, combining a grounded six degree-of-freedom force feedback arm
with a hand exoskeleton. We are able to create the sensation of weight on the
hand when it is within reach of the grounded device, but away from the grounded
device, hand-referenced force feedback is still available. A user study
demonstrates that users can successfully discriminate weight when using docking
haptics, but not with the exoskeleton alone. Such hybrid systems would be able
to change configuration further, for example docking two grounded devices to a
hand in order to deliver twice the force, or extend the working volume. We
suggest that the docking haptics concept can thus extend the practical utility
of haptics in user interfaces
Autonomous Visual Servo Robotic Capture of Non-cooperative Target
This doctoral research develops and validates experimentally a vision-based control scheme for the autonomous capture of a non-cooperative target by robotic manipulators for active space debris removal and on-orbit servicing. It is focused on the final capture stage by robotic manipulators after the orbital rendezvous and proximity maneuver being completed. Two challenges have been identified and investigated in this stage: the dynamic estimation of the non-cooperative target and the autonomous visual servo robotic control. First, an integrated algorithm of photogrammetry and extended Kalman filter is proposed for the dynamic estimation of the non-cooperative target because it is unknown in advance. To improve the stability and precision of the algorithm, the extended Kalman filter is enhanced by dynamically correcting the distribution of the process noise of the filter. Second, the concept of incremental kinematic control is proposed to avoid the multiple solutions in solving the inverse kinematics of robotic manipulators. The proposed target motion estimation and visual servo control algorithms are validated experimentally by a custom built visual servo manipulator-target system. Electronic hardware for the robotic manipulator and computer software for the visual servo are custom designed and developed. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed vision-based robotic control for the autonomous capture of a non-cooperative target. Furthermore, a preliminary study is conducted for future extension of the robotic control with consideration of flexible joints
Moving path following for unmanned aerial vehicles with applications to single and multiple target tracking problems
This paper introduces the moving path following (MPF) problem, in which a vehicle is required to converge to and follow a desired geometric moving path, without a specific temporal specification, thus generalizing the classical path following that only applies to stationary paths. Possible tasks that can be formulated as an MPF problem include tracking terrain/air vehicles and gas clouds monitoring, where the velocity of the target vehicle or cloud specifies the motion of the desired path. We derive an error space for MPF for the general case of time-varying paths in a two-dimensional space and subsequently an application is described for the problem of tracking single and multiple targets on the ground using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying at constant altitude. To this end, a Lyapunov-based MPF control law and a path-generation algorithm are proposed together with convergence and performance metric results. Real-world flight tests results that took place in Ota Air Base, Portugal, with the ANTEX-X02 UAV demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
NASA Automated Rendezvous and Capture Review. Executive summary
In support of the Cargo Transfer Vehicle (CTV) Definition Studies in FY-92, the Advanced Program Development division of the Office of Space Flight at NASA Headquarters conducted an evaluation and review of the United States capabilities and state-of-the-art in Automated Rendezvous and Capture (AR&C). This review was held in Williamsburg, Virginia on 19-21 Nov. 1991 and included over 120 attendees from U.S. government organizations, industries, and universities. One hundred abstracts were submitted to the organizing committee for consideration. Forty-two were selected for presentation. The review was structured to include five technical sessions. Forty-two papers addressed topics in the five categories below: (1) hardware systems and components; (2) software systems; (3) integrated systems; (4) operations; and (5) supporting infrastructure
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