A laboratory test bed for space robotics: the VES II

The dynamic interaction between a space robotic manipulator and its base in micro-gravity can make it difficult to control and lead to system performance degradation. Control and planning algorithms proposed in the past to compensate for this dynamic interaction have lacked sufficient experimental evaluation. A laboratory test bed is described which was developed and built to emulate the dynamic behavior of space robotic systems and investigate proposed planning and control algorithms. Two methods for removing the effects of gravity in the laboratory are presented. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this test bed in studying the dynamic coupling between a space manipulator and its spacecraft.<
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