Robot is a system with a mechanical body, using computer as its brain. Integrating the sensors and actuators built into the mechanical body, the motions are realised with the computer software to execute the desired task. Robots are more flexible in terms of ability to perform new tasks or to carry out complex sequence of motion than other categories of automated manufacturing equipment. Today there is lot of interest in this field and a separate branch of technology ‘robotics’ has emerged.
It is concerned with all problems of robot design, development and applications. The technology to substitute or subsidise the manned activities in space is called space robotics. Various applications of space robots are the inspection of a defective satellite, its repair, or the construction of a space station and supply goods to this station and its retrieval etc. With the over lap of knowledge of kinematics, dynamics and control and progress in fundamental technologies it is about to become possible to design and develop the advanced robotics systems. And this will throw open the doors to explore and experience the universe and bring countless changes for the better in the ways we live.
The proposed robot is of articulated type with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF). The reason for 6 DOF system rather than one with lesser number of DOF is that it is not possible to freeze all the information about possible operations of the payload/racks in 3D space to exclude some DOF of the robot. Hence, a versatile robot is preferred, as this will not impose any constraints on the design of the laboratory payload/racks and provide flexibility in the operation of the robot. A system with more than six DOF can be provided redundancies and can be used to overcome obstacles.
However, the complexities in analysis and control for this configuration become multifold. The robot consists of two arms i.e.
An upper arm and a lower arm. The upper arm is fixed to the base and has rotational DOF about pitch and yaw axis. The lower arm is connected to the upper arm by a rotary joint about the pitch axis. These 3 DOF enable positioning of the end effector at any required point in the work space. A three-roll wrist mechanism at the end of the lower arm is used to orient the end effector about any axis.
An end effector connected to the wrist performs the required functions of the hand. Motors through a drive circuit drive the joint of the arm and wrist. Angular encoders at each joint control the motion about each axis. The end effector is driven by a motor and a pressure sensor/strain gauges on the fingers are used to control the grasping force on the job. Categories. (6). (4).
Today there is lot of interest in this field and a separate branch of technology 'robotics' has emerged. It is concerned with all problems of robot design, development and applications.
The technology to substitute or subsidise the manned activities in space is called space robotics. Various applications of space robots are the inspection of a defective satellite, its repair, or the construction of a space station and supply goods to this station and its retrieval etc. With the over lap of knowledge of kinematics, dynamics and control and progress in fundamental technologies it is about to become possible to design and develop the advanced robotics systems. And this will throw open the doors to explore and experience the universe and bring countless changes for the better in the ways we live. Areas Of Application The space robot applications can be classified into the following four categories 1 In-orbit positioning and assembly: For deployment of satellite and for assembly of modules to satellite/space station. 2 Operation: For conducting experiments in space lab. 3 Maintenance: For removal and replacement of faulty modules/packages.
4 Resupply: For supply of equipment, materials for experimentation in space lab and for the resupply of fuel. The following examples give specific applications under the above categories Scientific Experimentation. Conduct experimentation in space labs that may include ' Metallurgical experiments which may be hazardous.
' Astronomical observations. ' Biological experiments. Assist crew in space station assembly ' Assist in deployment and assembly out side the station. ' Assist crew inside the space station: Routine crew functions inside the space station and maintaining life support system. Space servicing functions ' Refueling.
' Replacement of faulty modules. ' Assist jammed mechanism say a solar panel, antenna etc. Space craft enhancements ' Replace payloads by an upgraded module. ' Attach extra modules in space. Space tug ' Grab a satellite and effect orbital transfer.
' Efficient transfer of satellites from low earth orbit to geostationary orbit. SPACE SHUTTLE TILE REWATERPROOFING ROBOT. TESSELLATOR Tessellator Tessellator is a mobile manipulator system to service the space shuttle.The method of rewaterproofing for space shuttle orbiters involves repetitively injecting the extremely hazardous dimethyloxysilane (DMES) into approximately 15000 bottom tile after each space flight. The field robotic center at Carneige Mellon University has developed a mobile manipulating robot, Tessellator for autonomous tile rewaterproofing.
Its automatic process yields tremendous benefit through increased productivity and safety. In this project, a 2D-vehicle workspace covering and vehicle routing problem has been formulated as the Travelling Workstation Problem (TWP). In the TWP, a workstation is defined as a vehicle which occupies or serves a certain area and it can travel; a workspace is referred to as a 2D actuation envelop of manipulator systems or sensory systems which are carried on the workstation; a work area refers to a whole 2D working zone for a workstation.
The objective of the TWP is 1 To determine the minimum number of workspaces and their layout, in which, we should minimize the overlapping among the workspaces and avoid conflict with obstacles. 2 To determine the optimal route of the workstation movement, in which the workstation travels over all workspaces within a lowest cost (i.e. Routing time). The constraints of the problem are 1) The workstation should serve or cover all workareas. 2) The patterns or dimensions of each workspace are the same and 3) There some geographical obstacles or restricted areas. In the study, heuristic solutions for the TWP, and a case study of Tessellator has been conducted.
It is concluded that the covering strategies, e.g. Decomposition and other layout strategies yield satisfactory solution for workspace covering, and the cost-saving heuristics can near-optimally solve the routing problem. The following figure shows a sample solution of TWP for Tessellator. ROBOTS TO REFUEL SATELLITES The US department of defense is developing an orbital-refueling robot that could expand the life span of American spy satellites many times over, new scientists reported. The robotic refueler called an Autonomous Space Transporter and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO) could shuttle between orbiting fuel dumps and satellites according to the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency. Therefore, life of a satellite would no longer be limited to the amount of fuel with which it is launched. Spy satellites carry a small amount of fuel, called hydrazine, which enable them to change position to scan different parts of the globe or to go into a higher orbit.
Such maneuvering makes a satellites position difficult for an enemy to predict. But, under the current system, when the fuel runs out, the satellite gradually falls out of orbit and goes crashing to the earth. Convert udf to mp4 software reviews. In the future the refueler could also carry out repair works on faulty satellites, provided the have modular electronic systems that can be fixed by slot in replacements.
What is a Robot?A re-programmable, multifunctional,automatic industrial machine designed toreplace human in hazardous work. It canbe used as:-.An automatic machine sweeper.An automatic car for a child to play with.A machine removing mines in a war field.In space.In military, and many more. Robotics is science of designing or building an applicationof robots.
Simply,Robotics may be defines as “The Studyof Robots”. The aim of robotics is to design an efficientrobot.Robotics is needed because:-.Speed.
Can work in hazardous/dangerous temperature. Can do repetitive tasks. Can do work with accuracy. The word robot was introduced to the public by Czech writerKarel Capek(1890-1938) in his play R.U.R.
(RossumsUniversal Robots), published in 1920. The play begins in afactory that makes artificial people called robots. Capek wasreportedly several times a candidate for the Nobel prize forhis works. The word 'robotics', used to describe this field of study, was coined accidentally by the Russian –born, American scientist and science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov(1920-1992) in 1940s. Asimov also proposed his three 'Laws of Robotics', and he later added a “zeroth law”.Zeroth Law: A robot may not injure humanity, or,through inaction, allow humanity to come to harmFirst Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or,through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm,unless this would violate a higher order lawSecond Law: A robot must obey orders given it by humanbeings, except where such orders would conflict with a higherorder lawThird Law: A robot must protect its own existence aslong as such protection does not conflict with a higherorder law. Most industrial robots have at least the following five parts: Sensors Effectors Actuators Controllers Arms. SensorEffector.
ControllerArm. The most common types of Robots are. Mobile robots are of two types.Rolling robots have wheels to move around.They can quickly and easily search.However they are only useful in flat areas.Robots on legs are usually brought in whenthe terrain is rocky. Most robots have atleast 4 legs; usually they have 6 or more. Robots are not only used to explore areas orimitate a human being. Most robots performrepeating tasks without ever moving an inch.Most robots are ‘working’ in industry settingsand are stationary.Autonomous robots are self supportingor in other words self contained. In a waythey rely on their own ‘brains’.
A person can guide a robot by remotecontrol. A person can perform difficult andusually dangerous tasks without being at thespot where the tasks are performed.Virtual robots don’t exits In real life. Virtualrobots are just programs, building blocks ofsoftware inside a computer. Going to far away planets.Going far down into the unknown waters and mines where humanswould be crushedGiving us information that humans cant getWorking at places 24/7 without any salary and food. Plus they dontget boredThey can perform tasks faster than humans and much moreconsistently and accuratelyMost of them are automatic so they can go around by themselveswithout any human interference. People can lose jobs in factories It needs a supply of powerIt needs maintenance to keep it running.It costs money to make or buy a robot.
Space robotics full pdf. 1. 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Robot is a system with a mechanical body, using computer as its brain. Integrating the sensors and actuators built into the mechanical body, the motions are realized with the computer software to execute the desired task. Robots are more flexible in terms of ability to perform new tasks or to carry out complex sequence of motion than other categories of automated manufacturing equipment.
Today there is lot of interest in this field and a separate branch of technology ‘robotics’ has emerged. It is concerned with all problems of robot design, development and applications. The technology to substitute or subsidies the manned activities in space is called space robotics. Various applications of space robots are the inspection of a defective satellite, its repair, or the construction of a space station and supply goods to this station and its retrieval etc.
With the overlap of knowledge of kinematics, dynamics and control and progress in fundamental technologies it is about to become possible to design and develop the advanced robotics systems. And this will throw open the doors to explore and experience the universe and bring countless changes for the better in the ways we live. Space technology (ST) has significant impact on all socioeconomic and life aspects of the global society and space environment represents one of the most challenging applications of robotics as a key factor of technologies evolution.
Therefore many efforts from research groups, academia, industry and governments were applied to merge space and robotics technologies within space robotics concept (SR). A desirable feature for space robotics machines includes intellectual control, mobility, reconfigurable techniques, and recognition. These features require radical innovations in computer science, mechatronics and control technologies.
The new opportunities of robotics systems in cosmic environment are considered as hi-tech priority which requires non-trivial and constructive approaches and innovative architectures. Obviously many important aspects ST such as specific novel communication techniques, effect of weightlessness or autonomic behavior of SR systems cannot be verified on-ground condition. That is why all innovative decisions need to be tested and demonstrated in open space condition within realistic scenarios. 2 1.1 Areas of Applications The space robot applications can be classified into the following four categories: 1.
In-orbit positioning and assembly: For deployment of satellite and for assembly of modules to satellite/space station. Figure 1.1: In Orbit Position 2. Operation: For conducting experiments in space lab. Figure 1.2: MARS Rovers 3.
Maintenance: For removal and replacement of faulty modules/packages. Figure 1.3: Modules &Packages.
3 4. Resupply: For supply of equipment, materials for experimentation in space lab and for the resupply of fuel. The following examples give specific applications under the above categories: Scientific experimentation: Conduct experimentation in space labs that may include 1.
Metallurgical experiments which may be hazardous. Astronomical observations. Biological experiments. Assist crew in space station assembly: 1.
Assist in deployment and assembly outside the station. Assist crew inside the space station: Routine crew functions inside the space station and maintaining life support system. Space servicing functions: 1.
Robotics Ppt Slides
Replacement of faulty modules. Assist jammed mechanism say a solar panel, antenna etc. Space craft enhancements: 1.
Replace payloads by an upgraded module. Attach extra modules in space. Space tug: 1. Grab a satellite and effect orbital transfer. Efficient transfer of satellites from low earth orbit to geostationary orbit.
4 Chapter 2 SPACE ROBOT CHALLENGES IN DESIGN AND TESTING Robots are artificial agents with capacities of perception and action in the physical world often referred by researchers as workspace. Their use has been generalized in factories but nowadays they tend to be found in the most technologically advanced societies in such critical domains as search and rescue, military battle, mine and bomb detection, scientific exploration, law enforcement, entertainment and hospital care. Robots developed for space applications will be significantly different from their counterpart in ground. Space robots have to satisfy unique requirements to operate in zero ‘g’ conditions (lack of gravity), in vacuum and in high thermal gradients, and far away from earth.
The phenomenon of zero gravity effects physical action and mechanism performance. The vacuum and thermal conditions of space influence material and sensor performance.
The degree of remoteness of the operator may vary from a few meters to millions of kilometers. The principle effect of distance is the time delay in command communication and its repercussions on the action of the arms.
The details are discussed below: 2.1 ZERO ‘g’ EFFECT ON DESIGN The gravity free environment in which the space robot operates possesses both advantages and disadvantages. The mass to be handled by the manipulator arm is not a constraint in the zero ‘g’ environment. Hence, the arm and the joints of the space robot need not withstand the forces and the moment loads due to gravity. This will result in an arm which will be light in mass. The design of the manipulator arm will be stiffness based and the joint actuators will be selected based on dynamic torque (i.e.; based on the acceleration of the arm). The main disadvantage of this type of environment is the lack of inertial frame.
Any motion of the manipulator arm will induce reaction forces and moment at the base which in turn will disturb the position and the altitude. The problem of dynamics, control and motion planning for the space robot is considering the dynamic interactions between the robot and the base (space shuttle, space station and satellite). Due to the dynamic interaction, the motion of the space robot can alter the base trajectory and the robot end effector can miss the desired target due to the motion of the base. The mutual dependence severely affects the performance of both the robot and the base, especially, when the mass and moment of inertia of the robot and the payload are not.
5 negligible in comparison to the base. Moreover, inefficiency in planning and control can considerably risk the success of space missions. The components in space do not stay in position. They freely float and are a problem to be picked up.
Hence, the components will have to be properly secured. Also the joints in space do not sag as on earth. Unlike on earth the position of the arm can be within the band of the backlash at each joint. Figure 2.1: Zero ‘g’ Effect in Robotics 2.2 VACUUM EFFECT AND THERMAL EFFECT The vacuum in space can create heat transfer problems and mass loss of the material through evaporation or sublimation. This is to be taken care by proper selection of materials, lubricants etc., so as to meet the total mass loss (TML) of 5mm), but in the last ten years they demonstrated interesting applications in micro-handling. Some of them are ready of spreading out their original field. The other adopted principles are: Electrostatic grippers and van der Waals grippers based on electrostatic charges capillary grippers and cryogenic grippers, based on liquid medium, and ultrasonic grippers and laser grippers, two contactless grasping principles.
Electrostatic grippers are based on charge difference between the gripper and the part (i.e. Electrostatic force) often activated by the gripper itself, while van der Waals grippers are based on the low force (still electrostatic) due to the atomic attraction between the molecules of the gripper and those of the object. Capillary grippers use the surface tension of a liquid meniscus between the gripper and the part to center, align and grasp the part, cryogenic grippers freeze a small amount of liquid and the resulting ice guarantees the necessary force to lift and handle the object (this principle is used also in food handling and in textile grasping). Even more complex are ultrasonic based grippers, where pressure standing waves are used to lift up a part and trap it at a certain level.
17 Chapter 5 OPERATION OF SPACE ROBOTS 5.1 SPACE SHUTTLE ROBOT ARM (SHUTTLE REMOTE MANIPULATOR SYSTEM) 5.1.1 USE OF SHUTTLE ROBOT ARM The Solar Maximum Repair Mission (SMRM) of 1984 was the first demonstration of on- orbit servicing by astronauts in combination with software workarounds uploaded from the ground, and teleportation of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) by an astronaut. The Solar Maximum Repair Mission represents a 'textbook' case of OOS, involving the exchange of ORU (Orbital Replacement Unit) modules. Although the more complex tasks were performed by astronauts on EVA (extravehicular activity), such servicing operations may potentially be performed by robotic servicers.
The repair and servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope and other US astronaut activities have further demonstrated the feasibility of space based servicing tasks. Indeed, robotic servicing was an instrumental part of the early stages of the ISS programmer in which two concepts were proposed to perform these functions - the Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) and the Orbital Maneouvring Vehicle (OMV) - but these were cancelled in the face of budget cuts. NASA's AERCam (Autonomous Extravehicular Robotic Camera) represents a step in this direction AERCam is a small 35 cm diameter free flying sphere comprising a camera for aiding astronaut EVA, thrusters for attitude and translation control, and avionics developed from astronaut MMU (manned maneuvering unit) technology. The addition of robotic manipulators onto a larger spacecraft platform would offer free flyer servicer capabilities. The sizing of the manipulator would be determined by EVA equivalence, one example of which is the proposed ESA dexterous robot manipulator system: 1.
Seven degrees of freedom (three degrees of freedom at the shoulder, one degree of freedom at the elbow, and three degrees of freedom at the spherical wrist) 2. Three fingered end effector with cylindrical dimensions 10 x 15 cm 3. Control set-point rate of 100 Hz 4. Forward reach of 1m - this requires multiple grappling points on the target as full reachability around 5. Most satellites would require a reach of 4.5 - 16 m which is impractical.
18 6. End effector position accuracy of 0.3 mm/0.1o 7.
Maximum end effector velocity of 0.1 m/s and 0.1 rad/s 8. Structural displacement compliance of 1x106 N/m and rotational compliance of 5x104 Nm/rad 9.
Force/torque exertion of 200 N and 20 Nm respectively 10. Payload capacity of 500 kg in microgravity environment Figure 5.1: ATLAS robotic servicer concept On-orbit servicing robotics is a modern version of an old field that stems back to the origins of science itself – Newton (1642-1729), Euler (1707-1783), Alembert (1717-1783), Lagrange (1736-1813), Laplace (1749-1827) and Hamilton (1805-1865) all contributed to the development of mechanics and dynamics.
The primary differentiating characteristic of on- orbit servicing robotics from terrestrial robotics is that the robotic servicer operates in microgravity. Whereas the terrestrial manipulator is mounted onto terra firma, in space there is no such reaction force and torque cancellation – the motion of the manipulator(s) will generate reaction forces and moments on the spacecraft at the manipulator mounting point(s). 19 Robotic free flyer manipulators are difficult to control as the spacecraft platform moves in response to the manipulator movements. A free-floating platform no longer permits the use of the base of the manipulator as the inertial coordinate frame of reference.
If this effect is not taken into account, the manipulators will overshoot the target that it is attempting to grapple. A similar effect occurs with astronauts in the microgravity environment of space. They undergo changes in psychomotor performance and posture and their limb movements tend to overshoot their targets until the astronaut's brain has adapted to the new microgravity conditions (normally within two to three days). The robotic manipulator control system must similarly compensate for operating in microgravity while implementing the computationally intensive algorithms for trajectory interpolation, inverse kinematics, dynamics, and force/position control of the end effector. We may apply the conservation of momentum to the free flyer servicer system (assuming a single manipulator for simplicity) in order to apply constraints to solve the problem, which allows us to define the center of mass of the whole system to lie at the origin of the inertial reference frame - see Fig. 2.: The position of the manipulator end effector with respect to inertial space may be represented by Figure 5.2: Single arm robotic servicer. 20 The Shuttle's robot arm is used for various purposes.
Satellite deployment and retrieval 2. Construction of International Space Station 3. Transport an EVA crew member at the end of the arm and provide a scaffold to him or her. (An EVA crew member moves inside the cargo bay in co- operation with the support crew inside the Shuttle.) 4. Survey the outside of the Space Shuttle with a TV camera attached to the elbow or the wrist of the robot arm. Figure 5.3: Shuttle robot arm 5.1.2 ROBOT ARM OPERATION MODE SRMS is operated inside the Space Shuttle cabin. The operation is performed from the aft flight deck (AFD), right behind the cockpit; either through the window or by watching two TV monitors.
To control the SRMS, the operator uses the translational hand controller (THC) with his or her left hand and manipulates the rotational hand controller (RHC) with his or her right hand. THC RHC. 21 5.1.3 HOW SPACE SHUTTLE ROBOT ARM GRASPS OBJECT? Many people might think of human hand or magic hand, but its mechanism is as follows. At the end of the robot arm is a cylinder called the end effector. Inside this cylinder equipped three wires that are used to grasp objects. The object to be grasped needs to have a stick- shaped projection called a grapple fixture.
The three wires in the cylinder fix this grapple fixture. However, a sight is needed to acquire the grapple fixture while manipulating a robot arm as long as 45 feet. The grapple fixture has a target mark, and a rod is mounted vertically on this mark. The robot arm operator monitors the TV image of the mark and the rod, and operates the robot arm to approach the target while keeping the rod standing upright to the robot arm. If the angular balance between the rod and the robot arm is lost, that can immediately be detected through the TV image.
End effector and grapple fixture Robot arm’s payload acquiring sequence 5.2 FREE FLYING SPACE ROBOTS The figure below shows an example of a free flying space robot. It is called ETS VII (engineering test satellite VII). It was designed by NASDA and launched in November 1997. In a free flying space robot a robot arm is attached to the satellite base. There is a very specific control problem. When the robot arm moves, it disturbs the altitude of the satellite base. This is not desirable because,.
22 1. The satellite may start rotating in an uncontrollable way.
The antenna communication link may be interrupted. One of the research objectives is to design robot arm trajectories and to control the arm motion in such a way that the satellite base remains undisturbed or that the disturbance will be minimum. Figure 5.4: Free Flying Space Robots 5.3 SPACE STATION MOUNTED ROBOTS The international space station (ISS) is a sophisticated structural assembly. There will be several robot arms which will help astronauts in performing a variety of tasks. 23 Figure 5.5: JEMRMS The figure shows a part of ISS including the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM). A long manipulator arm can be seen. The arm is called JEMRMS (JEM Remote Manipulating System).
A small manipulator arm called SPDM (Special purpose dexterous Manipulator) can be attached to JEMRMS to improve the accuracy of operation. Figure 5.6: SPDM.
24 5.4 SPACE ROBOT TELEOPERATION Space robotics is one of the important technologies in space developments. Especially, it is highly desired to develop a completely autonomous robot, which can work without any aid of the astronauts. However, with the present state of technologies, it is not possible to develop a complete autonomous space robot. Therefore, the teleportation technologies for the robots with high levels of autonomy become very important. Currently, the technologies where an operator tale operates a space robot from within a spacecraft are already in practical use, like the capture of a satellite with the shuttle arm. However, the number of astronauts in space is limited, and it is not possible to achieve rapid progresses in space developments with the teleportation from within the spacecraft. For this reason, it has become highly desired to develop the technologies for the teleportation of space robots from the ground in the future space missions.
25 Chapter 6 APPLICATIONS AND ADVATAGES 6.1 SPACE SHUTTLE TILE REWATERPROOFING ROBOT Figure 6.1: Tessellator Tessellator is a mobile manipulator system to service the space shuttle. The method of re water proofing for space shuttle orbiters involves repetitively injecting the extremely hazardous dimethyl oxysilane (DMES) into approximately 15000 bottom tile after each space flight. The field robotic center at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a mobile manipulating robot, Tessellator for autonomous tile re water proofing. Its automatic process yields tremendous benefit through increased productivity and safety. In this project, a 2D-vehicle workspace covering and vehicle routing problem has been formulated as the Travelling Workstation Problem (TWP). In the TWP, a workstation is defined as a vehicle which occupies or serves a certain area and it can travel; a workspace is referred to as a 2D actuation envelop of manipulator systems or sensory systems which are carried on the workstation; a work area refers to a whole 2D working zone for a workstation. The objective of the TWP is 1.
To determine the minimum number of workspaces and their layout, in which, we should minimize the overlapping among the workspaces and avoid conflict with obstacles. To determine the optimal route of the workstation movement, in which the workstation travels over all workspaces within a lowest cost (i.e. Routing time). The constraints of the problem are 1) The workstation should serve or cover all work areas. 26 2) The patterns or dimensions of each workspace are the same and 3) There some geographical obstacles or restricted areas. In the study, heuristic solutions for the TWP, and a case study of Tessellator has been conducted.
It is concluded that the covering strategies, e.g. Decomposition and other layout strategies yield satisfactory solution for workspace covering, and the cost-saving heuristics can near-optimally solve the routing problem. The following figure shows a sample solution of TWP for Tessellator. Figure 6.2: TWT 6.2 ROBOTS TO REFUEL SATELLITES The US department of defense is developing an orbital-refueling robot that could expand the life span of American spy satellites many times over, new scientists reported. The robotic refuel called an Autonomous Space Transporter and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO) could shuttle between orbiting fuel dumps and satellites according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Therefore, life of a satellite would no longer be limited to the amount of fuel with which it is launched. Spy satellites carry a small amount of fuel, called hydrazine, which enable them to change position to scan different parts of the globe or to go into a higher orbit.
Such maneuvering makes a satellites position difficult for an enemy to predict. But, under the current system, when the fuel runs out, the satellite gradually falls out of orbit and goes crashing to the earth.
In the future the refuel could also carry out repair works on faulty satellites, provided they have modular electronic systems that can be fixed by slot in replacements 6.3 APPLICATIONS. 27 Although we have considered general robotic spacecraft issues here which are of critical importance to the space robotics, space robotics as a discipline is focused on more specific issues and reflects more closely the subject-area covered by terrestrial robotics. Indeed, space robotics, like its terrestrial counterpart, is generally divided into two subject-areas (though there is significant overlap): 1. Robotic manipulators – such devices are proposed for deployment in space or on planetary surfaces to emulate human manipulation capabilities; they may be deployed on free-flyer spacecraft or on-orbit servicing of other spacecraft, within space vehicles for payload tending, or on planetary landers or rovers for the acquisition of samples; 2. Robotic rovers – such devices are proposed for deployment on planetary surfaces to emulate human mobility capabilities; they are typically deployed on the surfaces of terrestrial planets, small bodies of the solar system, planetary atmospheres (aerobats), or for penetration of ice layers (cryobots) or liquid layers (hydrobots).
In the following two papers, I shall consider two case studies, one from each of these two topics: the use of manipulators mounted onto free-flying spacecraft to provide on-orbit servicing tasks, and planetary surface Rovers for providing terrain-crossing mobility. I have specifically selected these two case studies to illustrate two issues – in the first, I consider the modification of traditional robotics techniques to the space environment; and in the second, I consider how new techniques may be borrowed from other disciplines (namely, vehicle trainability) and applied to robotic planetary rovers.
In the developed world, highways are a critical component of the transportation network. The Volume of traffic on the roadways has been steadily increasing for many years as society becomes more and more mobile. However, the funding to maintain these roadways has not been keeping pace with the traffic volume. The result is deteriorating roadways that cannot be adequately maintained. Conventional techniques to road repair lead to traffic congestion, delays, and dangers for the workers and the motorists. Robotic solutions to highway maintenance applications are attractive due to their potential for increasing the safety of the highway worker, reducing delays in traffic flow, increasing productivity, reducing labor costs, and increasing quality of the repairs.
Application areas to which robotics can be applied in this area include a. Highway integrity management (crack sealing, pothole repair) b. Highway marking management (pavement marker replacement, paint re- striping). 28 c.
Highway debris management (litter bag pickup, on road refuse collection, hazardous spill Cleanup, snow removal) d. Highway signing management (sign and guide marker washing, roadway advisory) e. Highway landscaping management (vegetation control, irrigation control) f. Highway work zone management (automatic warning system, lightweight movable barriers, automatic cone placement and retrieval) Although relatively few implementations in highway maintenance and repair have been attempted, some successful prototypes have been developed (Zhou and West, 1991). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), together with the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) are developing a number of prototypes for highway maintenance under the Automated Highway Maintenance Technology (AHMT) program.
Space Robotics Challenge
Efforts are underway to develop systems for crack sealing, placement of raised highway pavement markers, paint striping, retrieving bagged garbage, pavement distress data collection, and cone dispensing. One result of this effort is a robotic system, ACSM, for automatic crack sealing along roadways (Winters et al., 1994).
Shown in Figure 3, this machine senses, prepares, and seals cracks and joints along the highway. Figure 6.3: Automated Crack Sealing Machine. 29 CONCLUSION In the future, robotics will make it possible for billions of people to have lives of leisure instead of the current preoccupation with material needs.
There are hundreds of millions who are now fascinated by space but do not have the means to explore it. For them space robotics will throw open the door to explore and experience the universe. Autonomous robotic systems are critical to achieving sustainability and reliability in NASA’s exploration mission.
The current monolithic design approach to robotics offers little room for reuse, adaptation, or maintenance on long-duration or open-ended missions. Adopting a modular design could address these needs, by allowing a single system mass to be reconfigured to suit each task and by reducing the number of spare parts required to achieve redundancy. However, there are many challenges to the scalability, reliability, and usability of such a system that a must be addressed before it could be put to use outside the laboratory.
We have presented initial prototype hardware, intended as a platform for beginning to address those challenges. Though this hardware is still far from being immediately useful in a space mission context, its versatility and usability is steadily increasing and we believe it may have immediate applications in the robotics research setting. Each module implements a single core function, reducing individual module complexity and cost and allowing a robotic system to be tailored as needed by including special-purpose modules.
By designing for a rapid-prototyping manufacturing technology, it is easy and inexpensive to add new module types when the existing types are insufficient or to make incremental changes between manufacturing runs. Finally, we have described the first components of an automated design and optimization system for modular robots, including a modular robot simulator and an evolutionary controller optimization tool.
We have presented the results of applying this system to the optimization of a walking at, and discussed how the system was even able to outperform the human engineer. As the capabilities of both the robots themselves and automated design tools grow, we expect such tools to be of increasing importance in the use of modular robots. 30 REFERENCES 1. Www.andrew.cmu.edu/ycia/robot.html 2.
Www.nanier.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics-page/technologies/0524.html 5. Www.jem.tksc.nasda.go.jp/iss/3a/orbrmse.html 6. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY by R.
INTRODUCTION TO SPACE ROBOTICS by ALEX ELLERY.
Www.thetoppersway.com Space Robotics Seminar On Submitted To: Submitted By: 1 1 CONTENTS Introduction What is Space Robotics? Space Robot-Challenges in Design and Testing System Verification and Testing Structure of Space Robots Operation Conclusion Reference Introduction Robot is a system with a mechanical body, using computer as its brain. Integrating the sensors and actuators built into the mechanical body, the motions are realised with the computer software to execute the desired task. Robots are more flexible in terms of ability to perform new tasks or to carry out complex sequence of motion than other categories of automated manufacturing equipment. What is Space Robotics? Development of machines for the space environment.
Usually controlled by humans. AREAS OF APPLICATION In orbit positioning and assembly Operation Maintenance Resupply Scientific Appications under the above categories are Scientific Experimentation Assist crew in space station assembly Space servicing function Space craft enhancements Space Tug Space Shuttle Tile Rewaterproofing robot Tessellator-Mobile Manipulator System Objective of the TWP is To determine the minimum number of workspaces and their layout. To determine the optimal route of the workstation movement.
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Path of the Tesselator ROBOTS TO REFUEL SATELLITES The US department of defense- Autonomous Space Transporter and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO) Expands lifespan of satellites carry out repair works on faulty satellites CHALLENGES IN DESIGN AND TESTING zero gravity - physical action and mechanism performance The vacuum and thermal conditions of space - material and sensor performance ZERO ‘g’ EFFECT ON DESIGN Arm will be light in mass Manipulator arm -stiffness based Joint actuators -selected based on dynamic torque (i.e.; based on the acceleration of the arm). Lack of inertial frame VACUUM EFFECT AND THERMAL EFFECT Total mass loss (TML).