A Novel Space Robot with Triple Cable-Driven Continuum Arms for Space Grasping.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Space Exploration Engineering

Background:

• Space exploration demands advanced robotic capabilities for object manipulation.
• Cable-driven continuum arms offer superior dexterity compared to traditional robotic arms for grasping diverse objects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel space robot featuring triple cable-driven continuum arms.
• To enable compliant grasping of space objects through multi-arm coordination.

Main Methods:

• Development of a kinematic model for the triple cable-driven continuum arm robot.
• Verification of the kinematic model through extensive simulations and experimental testing.

Main Results:

• The robot achieved a maximum repeat positioning error of less than 1 mm.
• The maximum tracking error was recorded at less than 2 mm for a 300 mm arm.
• Successful compliant grasping of a ball was demonstrated, validating the robot's performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed triple cable-driven continuum arm robot is effective for compliant grasping in space exploration.
• The validated kinematic model ensures high precision for robotic manipulation tasks in space.