Design and Experimental Study of Space Continuous Robots Applied to Space Non-Cooperative Target Capture.

Yuwang Liu,Dongqi Wang,Yi Yu,Yongchao Zhang,Zhongqiu Yuan,Jinguo Liu,Sheng Yang

doi:10.3390/mi12050536

Yuwang Liu, Dongqi Wang + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/mi12050536

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Abstract

Space capture actuators face problems such as insufficient flexibility and electrical components that are vulnerable to extreme space environments. To address these problems, a centralized-driven flexible continuous robot based on a multiple scissor mechanism units is proposed in this study. The continuous robot body is composed of two scissor mechanism units coupled in series, and the base container’s three motors to drive the robot. The two scissor mechanism units ensure a wide range of flexible operations and the light weight of the robot. The centralized drive with three motors not only reduces the number of driving sources, but also ensures temperature control and protection of electrical components in the space environment. The kinematics and dynamics of the robot are analyzed, and the workspace and deformation performance of the robot are verified through experiments. Compared with other continuous robots, the proposed continuous robot retains the characteristics of continuous robots in a wide range of flexible operations. At the same time, the configuration is light and a small number of driving sources are used, which is suitable for extreme temperatures, vacuum, radiation, and strict resource-constrained environments in space.

Highlights

With the development of global space science and technology, space has gradually become crowded
To address the problem that existing continuous robots cannot be used in extreme environments in space, this study proposes a centralized-driven flexible continuous robot based on multiple scissor mechanism units
Since all electrical parts drive are placed in the power inputdrive is connected to the sliding sleeve on the scissor mechanism units, which the movement of the multistage units

Summary

Introduction

With the development of global space science and technology, space has gradually become crowded. The safety of spacecrafts in orbit will be seriously affected by abandoned spacecrafts, various space debris, and other non-cooperative targets. In order to ensure the safety of spacecraft, non-cooperative target acquisition in space has been increasingly investigated by researchers. The space capture actuator is generally used as one of the tool sets, installed at the end of a large space robot arm. Space capture actuators have the advantages of flexible bending, strong adaptability to non-structural environments, and resistance to extreme space environments. Continuous robots have obvious advantages in the field of non-cooperative target capture due to their high redundant degrees of freedom and flexibility.

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Conclusion