Motion Planning for Dual-Arm Space Robot Towards Capturing Target Satellite and Keeping the Base Inertially Fixed

This paper presents a motion planning method for space robotic systems keeping the bases inertially fixed while performing on-orbit services, using a combination of point-to-point planning and a balance-arm. A sufficient and necessary condition for stabilizing the base is first determined. The passive motion of the balance-arm is determined according to calculations of task-arm motion. The planning of the task-arm includes a nonlinear programming problem in joint space. A cost function is established as a measurement of key performance characteristics, such as positioning accuracy and manipulability. The joint trajectories of the task-arm are then parameterized using polynomials. An interval analysis-based strategy is proposed for the joint velocities of the task-arm according to the mechanical limits of balance-arm. Quantum particle swarm optimization is used to solve the parameters. Simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.