Robots safely push objects in space using human guidance
Multi-Agent Transportation of Free-Flyers in Microgravity Via Pushing Interaction Under Human-in-the-Loop Control
Robotics
Summary
Moving objects in space without gravity is tricky because robots can only push on one side and need to work together carefully. The authors designed a system where several robots push an object to move it as a human wants while making sure it doesn't crash into obstacles. Their system uses special math rules to keep the object stable and safe, even if the robots have to wait before acting. They tested their approach in computer simulations to show it works.
What this means in practice
- •For space mission operators: Coordinate teams of robots to relocate objects safely in microgravity environments under human supervision.
- •For warehouse robotic system designers: Design robotic push-based cooperative systems that track human commands while ensuring obstacle avoidance in cluttered spaces.
Tested on simulated data.
Authors
Gregorio Marchesini, Nicola De Carli, Sihyun Cho, Youngkyoung Kong, Elias Krantz, Mani Hemanth Dhullipalla, Dimos V. Dimarogonas, H. Jin Kim
Abstract
We propose a safety-critical framework for the cooperative transportation of passive targets in microgravity, where a team of chaser robots acts through unilateral pushing contacts to track a human-provided desired twist while ensuring safe target motion. The pushing-only nature of the interaction introduces sparse, configuration-dependent actuation constraints requiring chasers to physically relocate on the target body when the desired pushing allocation changes. To address these challenges, we formulate a delay-aware feedback control architecture leveraging Control Lyapunov Function (CLF) and Control Barrier Function (CBF) constraints within a mixed-integer thrust allocation program to enforce stability and safety of the target, respectively. The proposed framework enables reference tracking while guaranteeing obstacle avoidance with a circular obstacle despite intermittent control authority, providing a foundation for human-supervised cooperative transportation of free-flyers in space environments. The proposed framework is validated through Gazebo simulations.