Hybrid Simulation of a Capturing a Rotating Object Task by a Dual-Arm Space Robot

This paper presents hybrid (hardware in the loop) simulation of orbital operations by a space robot, and discusses a way to capture a spinning satellite using a dual-arm space robot. The orbital operations by a space robot, such as capturing a target object, involve collision between the hands and the object. It is difficult to numerically simulate complicated phenomena at the collision in general. The hybrid simulation is known as a useful method to verify the orbital operations having such complicated phenomena. The hybrid simulation is basically software simulation, replacing its part of numerical model by a hardware model, which contains complicated structure and motion. Firstly, a system architecture of the hybrid simulator is presented and a strategy for capturing a rotating object by a dual-arm space robot is discussed. Secondly, hybrid simulation of capturing a rotating object by a dual-arm space robot is performed to evaluate the proposed strategy. Finally, an experimental result of the hybrid simulation is presented, and effectiveness of the proposed strategy is verified.