Robotic Assembly and Maintenance of Space Solar Power Facilities

1
Robotic Assembly and Maintenance of Space Solar
Power Facilities

• Red WhittakerThe Robotics InstituteCarnegie
  Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA 15213
• red_at_ri.cmu.edu

2
Vision

• SSP is a compelling motivation for a robotic
  workforce
• decades of operational life in high orbit
• extensive scale and repeating topology
• fragile and flexible structures
• repetitive construction and maintenance tasks
• Robots are an enabling technology for SSP
• join structural elements, make electrical
  connections, replace electronics modules, perform
  inspections,
• provide full life cycle robotic presence
• Walking sticks are favored over fixed and free
  flying robots
• free-flyers expend propellant and incur docking
  risks
• fixed manipulators require base structure, vast
  length and impart large base reaction forces
• walking sticks are an unexplored technology

3
Heritage Systems Technologies

• Self Mobile Space Manipulator
• node walker
• adaptive control
• visual tracking
• gravity compensation

4
Heritage Systems Technologies

• Ambler and Dante walking robots
• gait planning
• closed kinematic chain control
• force regulation
• task control

5
Heritage Systems Technologies

• RWV and Pioneer worksystems
• mobile manipulation
• tooling
• task operations

6
Skyworker - Walking Stick

• Assembles and maintains SSP facilities
• Grasps payloads and connects to other Skyworkers
• Walks by successive attachment to SSP backbone
• Steps softly and accommodates flexible structures

7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
9-Month Objectives

• Demonstrate SSP relevant AIM tasks using robotics
• carry and handle materials
• mate mechanical and electrical components
• inspect surfaces, structure and modules
• Emulate prospective SSP AIM robots and tasks
• explore alternative Skyworker designs and derive
  optimal robot configuration
• simulate Skyworker capabilities beyond those
  physically demonstrated
• investigate alternative task approaches

10
Project Schedule
month
0
2
4
9
6
Skyworker Development
Robot Tests Exercises
ConfigurationAnalysis Design
Demonstration
SkyworkerEmulatorDevelopment
CapabilityStudies
11
Robot Demonstrator

• Mobility on representative SSP structures
• attachment to structural elements
• gait and motion control on flexible structures
• threading between and wrapping around elements
• Manipulation of representative SSP components
• grasping, carrying and docking of objects tools
• manipulation force regulation
• Goals
• understand the robots interaction with SSP
  structures
• verify robot configuration

task sequencing human interfaces automated
inspection
12
Robot Emulator

• Quantify energy efficiency, speed, accuracy,
• Explore alternative approaches to tasks
• cooperating robots (pairs, triples, )
• individuals linked together in chains (parallel,
  serial)
• Model automation technologies
• motion sequencing, perception, safeguarding
• advanced task automation
• automated inspection
• Goals
• plug n play compatibility with robot
  demonstrator
• variable speed (real-time ) operation
• faithful representation of physics

13
Process Map

• emulation
• kinetics
• dynamics
• planning
• gait
• grasp