Mini-Teleoperation Technology for Space Research

A small direct drive serial manipulator has been developed for applications in sample handling for scientific payloads in space. The manipulator is about 15 cm in length, and has 5-10 microns positioning precision. The prototype forms the basis for design of the MicroTrex flight experiment for NASA. The experiment will measure performance of the robot in low earth orbit under control from a ground station. This paper describes the design of the manipulator, some experimental results of the manipulator performance, and plans for space flight testing.

[1]  Won S. Kim,et al.  Demonstration of a high-fidelity predictive/preview display technique for telerobotic servicing in space , 1993, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[2]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Scaling Properties of Direct Drive Serial Arms , 1996 .

[3]  Pradeep K. Khosla.  Some experimental results on model-based control schemes , 1988, Proceedings. 1988 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  A 5-axis mini direct drive robot for time delayed teleoperation , 1994, Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS'94).

[5]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Multi-dimensional hidden Markov model of telemanipulation tasks with varying outcomes , 1990, 1990 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Conference Proceedings.

[6]  B. Hannaford,et al.  Hidden Markov Model of Force Torque Information in Telemanipulation , 1991 .

[7]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Pen-based force display for precision manipulation in virtual environments , 1995, Proceedings Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium '95.