Design and Dynamic Control: A Free-Flying Space Robot Inspired by Water Striders

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Aerospace Engineering
• Control Systems

Background:

• On-orbit assembly of large space telescopes presents significant challenges.
• Simulating microgravity environments for robotic systems is complex.
• Existing control methods for space robots often suffer from chattering and lack adaptability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a free-flying space robot (FFSR) for simulating on-orbit assembly tasks.
• To develop and implement an advanced control strategy for precise trajectory tracking of the FFSR.
• To establish a ground-based experimental platform for testing space telescope assembly technologies.

Main Methods:

• Developed a FFSR system with an air-floating ground simulation using planar air bearings.
• Established kinematics and dynamics models for the FFSR.
• Proposed a novel adaptive boundary layer fuzzy sliding mode control (ABLFSMC) method incorporating fuzzy logic to mitigate chattering.
• Utilized Lyapunov stability theory to guarantee controller stability.

Main Results:

• The FFSR successfully simulated free-flying motion in a gravity-reduced environment.
• The ABLFSMC method demonstrated high trajectory tracking accuracy in simulations.
• Experimental results validated the FFSR's performance and the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
• The fuzzy logic component effectively minimized the chattering effect inherent in sliding mode control.

Conclusions:

• The developed FFSR provides a valuable experimental platform for validating on-orbit assembly technologies.
• The ABLFSMC method offers a robust and accurate solution for controlling free-flying space robots.
• This research contributes to advancing the capabilities for future large space telescope construction.