Papers for

spacecraft robotic operators

Papers whose findings have a practical use for this group, as judged from the abstract. Open a paper to read what it means in practice.

State estimation method improves control of hybrid space robot arms

State estimation for a hybrid rigid-continuum space manipulator system

Abstract: Spacecraft-mounted robotic manipulators can support long-term operability of orbiting assets by conducting tasks such as on-orbit assembly, repair, upgrade, and refueling. In this context, the integration of continuum/soft robotic mechanisms into space manipulator designs promises to reduce stowage volume and mass, as well as to improve operational safety through the inherent mechanical compliance of soft structures. This work presents a novel state reconstruction pipeline for a hybrid soft-rigid space manipulator, in which the distal link is a tendon-driven continuum robot. The estimation problem is formulated as a maximum a posteriori (MAP) inference problem over the hybrid manipulator's configuration, conditioned on discrete, noisy measurements from joint encoders and a vision-based sensing pipeline. The resulting soft-constrained optimization problem is transcribed as a factor graph, providing a compact representation for fusing heterogeneous measurements with the rigid-soft kinematic model. Furthermore, the adoption of the Geometric Variable Strain (GVS) approach yields a minimum-order parameterization of the configuration, a property expected to facilitate model-based feedback control design in future work. The proposed implementation is validated in simulation on a closed-loop trajectory where, for better realism, position measurements for the continuum link are obtained by means of a simulated visual pipeline leveraging synthetic photorealistic images. The state reconstruction accuracy and computational performance confirm the potential of the proposed framework for hybrid soft-rigid robotic applications in orbit.

Tue 27 OctRobotics
The gist
Space robots need to perform complex tasks like repairs and assembly while orbiting Earth. The authors designed a new way to estimate the positions and shapes of a hybrid robot arm that combines rigid parts and a flexible soft segment. They use measurements from joint sensors and cameras, along with a mathematical model, to accurately figure out the robot's state in space. Their method was tested in realistic computer simulations using synthetic images, showing it can provide reliable data for future control systems.
Open → 2610.37043v1