On the Workspace of a Free-Floating Space Robot

Abstract

The planar problem of controlling the motion of a free-floating space robot is investigated. The robot consists of a body and a telescopic manipulator arm. The motion of the manipulator arm changes the body’s center of mass and causes the body to rotate. It is assumed that the length of the manipulator arm and the angle of its turn relative to the body are restricted. It is shown that the workspace of such a robot is significantly larger than the workspace of a robot with a fixed body. Due to the special motions of the manipulator arm, the robot’s body can be turned and the gripper can be moved from an arbitrary position to another arbitrary position if they are within the workspace, which is a ring centered at the robot’s center of mass. In addition, the prescribed angle between the manipulator arm and the body in the terminal position can be ensured.