A Hierarchical Control Architecture for Space Robots in On-Orbit Servicing Operations

Abstract

In-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal require advanced robotic capabilities for capturing and detumbling uncooperative targets. This work presents a hierarchical control framework for autonomous robotic capture of tumbling objects in space. A simulation environment is developed, incorporating sloshing dynamics of the chaser, a rarely studied effect in space robotics. The proposed controller combines an inner Lyapunov-based robust control loop for multi-body dynamics with an outer loop addressing an extended inverse kinematics problem. Simulation results show improved robustness and adaptability compared to existing control schemes.

Figures (7)

• Figure 1: Additional DOFs of the spherical pendulum model.
• Figure 2: Control system architecture.
• Figure 3: End-Effector/Grasping Point errors - New Controller.
• Figure 4: Control input actions - New Controller.
• Figure 5: End-Effector/Grasping Point errors - Reference Controller.