Kinematics, Workspace, and Design of a Dual-Arm Spatial Robot in Zero Gravity

Abstract

In the current literature on space robotics, an important idea that is overlooked is that the features of a space robot system need not be the same as those designed for use on earth. The differences arise due to conservation of linear and angular momentum applicable to free-floating manipulators. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to build a kinematic model of a robot system operating in space with two human-like arms, (2) to develop algorithms for determining inverse solutions and workspace, and (3) to provide guidelines for design of multi-arm robot systems for space applications. We show from these studies that inertial parameters such as link masses play an important role in determining the inverse solutions and workspace boundaries.