Coordinated Control of Space Robot Teams for the On-Orbit Construction of Large Flexible Space Structures

Teams of autonomous space robots are needed for future space missions such as the construction of large solar power stations and large space telescopes in earth orbit. This work focuses on the control of teams of robots performing construction tasks such as manipulation and assembly of large space structures. The control of the robot structure system is difficult. The space structures are flexible and there are significant dynamic interactions between the robots and the structures. Forces applied by the robots may excite undesirable vibrations in the structures. Further, the changing configuration of the system results in the system dynamics being described by a set of non-linear partial differential equations making the control problem difficult. Limited sensing and actuation in space present additional challenges. The approach discussed here is to transform the system dynamics into a set of linear time-varying ordinary differential equations. The control of the high-frequency robots ...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: AR
• Authors: Peggy Boning, Steven Dubowsky
• Keywords: AR 2007, AR 2010, Robots, Space, Space Structures