FORROST: Advances in on-orbit robotic technologies

Orbital robotics is receiving growing attention worldwide for applications in servicing and repositioning of partially or fully defective satellites. In this paper, we present the scope and main results of a four-year research project, which aimed at developing necessary robotic technologies for such applications. The scope is two-fold, since we address both the human-operated robotic operational mode, referred to in robotics as force-feedback teleoperation, as well as the alternative autonomous mode, for the specific task of approaching and grasping a free-tumbling target satellite. We present methodological developments and experimental as well as numerical validations in the fields of tele-communications, computer vision, robot and spacecraft control and system identification. The results of this work constitute important advances in the fundamental building blocks necessary for the orbital applications of interest.