Exploring new strategies for failure recovery of crippled robot manipulators

The use of robot explorers and constructors in space is enhanced by the ability to recover from component failures. In this paper, we consider a six degree-of-freedom PUMA-like manipulator, mounted on a platform, that has a failed joint. We show the benefits of combining velocity and acceleration kinematic specifications of the task with constraints imposed by the joint failure to provide design degrees-of-freedom that ensure the task can be achieved despite the failure, which is the main contribution of the paper. The technique is illustrated for the recovery of an arm, modeled as the Instrument Deployment Device (IDD) of the Mars Exploratory Rover, from single failure in each of the three arm joints. The recognition that it is possible to reconfigure a crippled robotic system to achieve mission critical tasks guides the development of robust planning algorithms and influences future robot design.