Experimental studies for control of manipulators mounted on a free-flying space robot

An experimental system simulating a free-flying space robot has been constructed to evaluate the performance and/or feasibility of control schemes. The experimental robot model, composed of a satellite base and a manipulator can move on a two-dimensional planar table without friction by using air-bearings. The effectiveness and control performance of various path control methods, i.e. local PD-control, resolved motion rate control and resolved acceleration control, are evaluated and compared with each other through numerical simulations and hardware experiments. The feasibility of the control schemes is examined. Autonomous capture using a moving and floating target is also demonstrated