Space robotics and manipulators — The past and the future (original) (raw)

Space Robotics and Manipulators: Lessons Learned from the Past and Future Missions and Systems

Elsevier eBooks, 1993

This paper presents the current state of the technology in space robotics. Some historical developments and the experience gained during those projects have been discussed. The challenge of space exploration and related danger requires even larger use of robotics devices. Many tasks and jobs are being automated. The exploration of the Moon and Mars requires the autonomous, mobile robots to gather various information, measurements and data. An introduction of Space Shuttle and related activities required an efficient robotic manipulator for in orbit operations. The Space Station Mir (in orbit) and especially Space Station Freedom (planned for nearest future) require advanced robots and manipulators. The Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM) have been shown and briefly reviewed. Those and other robots for future missions are discussed in this paper.

A review of orbital space robots on its technical aspects

An automated shuttle is an unmanned robotics system, generally under telerobotic control. A mechanical robotic system intended to make logical conclusions is regularly called a space probe. Many space missions are more fit to telerobotic instead of keeping an eye on the task, because of lower cost and lower number of variables. By using self-governing robots which perform artificial intelligence tasks with a high level of is typically viewed as a subfield of artificial intelligence, and big data engineering. The orbital space robotics is playing the most promising hybrid approaches for any on-orbit servicing (OOS) projects. This paper provides a literature review of the analysis of modern technical enhancement for orbital space robots. Initially, the general meaning of a robot and an outline of the chronicled advancement of space robots are given. At that point, the specialized subtleties of orbital space robots are given in the consequent segments. The key issues in a space robotics technology are characterized as manipulation, mobility, autonomy, extreme environment, versatility.

Space Robotics: Past, Present, & Future

2022

Robotics and space technology are the most happening and tech-driven sectors in today's scenario. The early 21 st-century pop culture witnessed the rise of robotics and its application in space like R2D2 (Star Wars, 1977), Wall-E (2008), Terminator (2003), etc. Robots like Legacy robots, Atlas, are some of the well-known robots that are used in fields involving challenging environments and tasks. Space robots have developed significantly in the past few decades and produced robots like robotic arms and astronaut assistants.

Future potential applications of robotics for the International Space Station

Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 1998

The International Space Station (ISS) will offer a unique infrastructure to enable scientists and engineers to conduct their experiments over a large timescale and to gain experiment results on a regular basis. The ISS offers both exposed accommodation of payloads and facilities inside the pressurised laboratory modules. For a number of reasons, manipulative tending of such payloads and the servicing of Space Station system elements cannot be completely performed by astronauts. This is why robotic systems are expected to play an ever increasing role in the operation of the ISS. This paper describes three robotics concepts which can be important enhancements of the currently approved ISS robotics infrastructure: a small relocateable system mounted in front of facility racks for tending of internal payloads, a medium size dexterous system to tend to payloads on an external platform, and an extension of the large European Robot Ann (ERA) by a dexterous bi-arm "end effector" for external system servicing.

A Review of Robotics Technologies for On-Orbit Services

Space robotics has been considered one of the most promising approaches for on-orbit services (OOS) such as docking, berthing, refueling, repairing, upgrading, transporting, rescuing, and orbit cleanup. Many enabling techniques have been developed recently and several technology demonstration missions have been completed. Several manned servicing missions were also successfully accomplished but unmanned real servicing missions have not been done yet. All of the accomplished unmanned technology demonstration missions were designed to service perfectly known and cooperative targets only. Servicing a non-cooperative satellite in orbit by a robotic system is still an untested mission facing many technical challenges. One of the largest challenges would be how to ensure the servicing spacecraft and the robot to safely and reliably dock with or capture the target satellite and stabilizing it for subsequent servicing, especially if the serviced target is unknown regarding its motion and kinematics/dynamics properties. Obviously, further research and development of the enabling technologies are needed. To facilitate such further research and development, this paper provides a literature review of the recently developed technologies related to the kinematics, dynamics, control and verification of space robotic systems for manned and unmanned onorbit servicing missions.

Robots At Space Exploration

This paper goes through an overview of Space Robotics is the development of machines for the space environment that perform Exploration, or to Assemble/Construct, Maintain, or Service other hardware in Space. Humans generally control space robots locally (e.g. Space Shuttle robotic arm) or from a great distance (e.g. Mars Exploration Rovers) Robot is a system with a mechanical body, using computer as its brain. Integrating the sensors and actuators built into the mechanical body, the motions are realised with the computer software to execute the desired task. Robots are more flexible in terms of ability to perform new tasks or to carry out complex sequence of motion than other categories of automated manufacturing equipment. Today there is lot of interest in this field and a separate branch of technology 'robotics' has emerged. It is concerned with all problems of robot design, development and applications. The technology to substitute or subsidise the manned activities in space is called space robotics. Various applications of space robots are the inspection of a defective satellite, its repair, or the construction of a space station and supply goods to this station and its retrieval etc. With the over lap of knowledge of kinematics, dynamics and control and progress in fundamental technologies it is about to become possible to design and develop the advanced robotics systems. And this will throw open the doors to explore and experience the universe and bring countless changes for the better in the ways we live.

Space Robotics

International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 2004

In this first of three short papers, I introduce some of the basic concepts of space engineering with an emphasis on some specific challenging areas of research that are peculiar to the application of robotics to space development and exploration. The style of these short papers is pedagogical and this paper stresses the unique constraints that space application imposes. This first paper is thus a general introduction to the nature of spacecraft engineering and its application to robotic spacecraft. I consider the constraints and metrics used by spacecraft engineers in the design of spacecraft and how these constraints impose challenges to the roboticist. The following two papers consider specific robotics issues in more detail.

A Survey of Space Robotics

In this paper we summarize a survey conducted by NASA to determine the state-of-the-art in space robotics and to predict future robotic capabilities under either nominal and intensive development effort. The space robotics assessment study examined both inspace operations including assembly, inspection, and maintenance and planetary surface operations like mobility and exploration. Applications of robotic autonomy and human-robot cooperation were considered. The study group devised a decomposition of robotic capabilities and then suggested metrics to specify the technical challenges associated with each. The conclusion of this paper identifies possible areas in which investment in space robotics could lead to significant advances of important technologies.