Energy efficient reactionless design of multi-arm space robot for a cooperative handshake maneuver

Space robots play a significant role in on-orbit capture, space structure construction, and assembly tasks. Since the robotic arms are attached to a free-floating satellite, the motion of the manipulator in such tasks and the satellite are coupled. Multiple-arm space robots can perform complex cooperative tasks and are superior to single-arm space robots. Current work proposes a reactionless manipulation algorithm for a multi-robotic arm based on the iterative Newton–Euler method for space robots with many task and balance arms. The present work demonstrates two tasks and one balance arm to perform a reactionless handshake maneuver in space. This maneuver is presented in detail for a planar and spatial case. The planar case uses 3 DoF robotic arms, while the spatial case uses 6 DoF robotic arms. In addition, the balance arm has been designed considering the efficient usage of energy satisfying reactionless manipulation concept. The design procedure focuses on minimizing energy used during the motion of the balance arm for a known motion of task arms using a genetic algorithm. Moreover, computational experiments are conducted to validate the use of the genetic algorithm for optimization. The results of proposed reactionless manipulation algorithm have been validated with the results available in the literature for the spatial case that uses a different method. In the future, an energy-efficient balance arm will be designed to handle tumbling objects.     

Synergies between plant research conducted for terrestrial and for space purposes.

During the past 10 years, the main part of CELSS studies has concerned the exploration of limits of plant productivity. Very high yields were obtained in continuous and high lighting, without reaching any limit. Concepts of mineral nutrition were renewed. CELSS activities now induce a development in the techniques of image processing applied to plants in order to follow the growth, to detect stresses or diseases or to pilot harvesting robots. Notable efforts concern the development of sensors, the study of trace contaminants and the micro-organisms monitoring. In parallel, several instruments for plant culture in closed Systems were developed. The advantages of closure are emphasised in comparison with open flow systems. The concept of Artificial Ecosystems developed for space research is more and more taken into account by the scientific community. It is considered as a new tool to study basic and applied problems related to ecology and not especially concerned with space research.     

Instrumentation for plant health and growth in space.

The present-day plant growth facilities ("greenhouses") for space should be equipped with monitors and controllers of ambient parameters within the chamber because spacecraft environmental variations can be unfavorable to plants. Moreover, little is known about the effects of spaceflight on the greenhouse and rooting media. Lack of information about spaceflight effects on plants necessitates supplying space greenhouses with automatic, non-invasive monitors of, e.g., gas exchange rate, water and nutrient ion uptake, plant mass, temperature and water content of leaves. However, introduction of an environmental or plant sensor into the monitoring system may be reasonable only if it is justified by quantitative evaluation of the influence of a measured parameter on productivity, efficacy of illumination, or some other index of greenhouse efficiency. The multivariate adaptive optimization in terrestrial phytotrons appears to be one of the best methods to assess environmental impacts on crops. Two modifications of greenhouses with the three-dimensional adaptive optimization of crop photosynthetic characteristics include: (1) irradiation, air temperature and carbon dioxide using a modified simplex algorithm; and (2) using irradiation, air temperature, and humidity with sensitivity algorithms with varying frequency of test exposures that have been experimentally developed. As a result, during some stages of plant ontogensis, the photosynthetic productivity of wheat, tomatoes, and Chinese cabbage in these systems was found to increase by a factor of 2-3.     

Downsizing an orbital space robot: A dynamic system based evaluation

Small space robots have the potential to revolutionise space exploration by facilitating the on-orbit assembly of infrastructure, in shorter time scales, at reduced costs. Their commercial appeal will be further improved if such a system is also capable of performing on-orbit servicing missions, in line with the current drive to limit space debris and prolong the lifetime of satellites already in orbit. Whilst there have been a limited number of successful demonstrations of technologies capable of these on-orbit operations, the systems remain large and bespoke. The recent surge in small satellite technologies is changing the economics of space and in the near future, downsizing a space robot might become be a viable option with a host of benefits. This industry wide shift means some of the technologies for use with a downsized space robot, such as power and communication subsystems, now exist. However, there are still dynamic and control issues that need to be overcome before a downsized space robot can be capable of undertaking useful missions. This paper first outlines these issues, before analyzing the effect of downsizing a system on its operational capability. Therefore presenting the smallest controllable system such that the benefits of a small space robot can be achieved with current technologies. The sizing of the base spacecraft and manipulator are addressed here. The design presented consists of a 3 link, 6 degrees of freedom robotic manipulator mounted on a 12U form factor satellite. The feasibility of this 12U space robot was evaluated in simulation and the in-depth results presented here support the hypothesis that a small space robot is a viable solution for in-orbit operations.     

Status of space science and technology — An Australian perspective

The “Tyranny of Distance” has had a profound influence on Australian history and reaction to it has been an important factor in determining national scientific and technological goals. Because of its size and geographical remoteness, Australia is one of the countries to have gained substantially from the applications of space technology particularly in the fields of communications, meteorology and remote sensing. Australia is the fifth largest investor in INTELSAT which carries a major fraction of the nation's overseas telecommunications. A domestic satellite system, AUSSAT, is being acquired to improve telecommunications within the country. Australia is heavily dependent on satellite data for routine meteorological forecasting. Data from the Australian Landsat Station are in strong demand, particularly for mineral exploration. In the field of space science, Australia is collaborating with Canada and the United States in feasibility studies for STARLAB, a free-flying UV-optical one metre telescope proposed for launch by the US Space Shuttle beginning in 1989. These scientific and technological programs in which Australia is participating are all dependent upon the space programs of other nations and in describing the status of space science and technology from an Australian perspective some comments will be made on particular aspects of the space programs of the United States and Japan.     

Obstacle avoidance handling and mixed integer predictive control for space robots

This paper presents a novel obstacle avoidance constraint and a mixed integer predictive control (MIPC) method for space robots avoiding obstacles and satisfying physical limits during performing tasks. Firstly, a novel kind of obstacle avoidance constraint of space robots, which needs the assumption that the manipulator links and the obstacles can be represented by convex bodies, is proposed by limiting the relative velocity between two closest points which are on the manipulator and the obstacle, respectively. Furthermore, the logical variables are introduced into the obstacle avoidance constraint, which have realized the constraint form is automatically changed to satisfy different obstacle avoidance requirements in different distance intervals between the space robot and the obstacle. Afterwards, the obstacle avoidance constraint and other system physical limits, such as joint angle ranges, the amplitude boundaries of joint velocities and joint torques, are described as inequality constraints of a quadratic programming (QP) problem by using the model predictive control (MPC) method. To guarantee the feasibility of the obtained multi-constraint QP problem, the constraints are treated as soft constraints and assigned levels of priority based on the propositional logic theory, which can realize that the constraints with lower priorities are always firstly violated to recover the feasibility of the QP problem. Since the logical variables have been introduced, the optimization problem including obstacle avoidance and system physical limits as prioritized inequality constraints is termed as MIPC method of space robots, and its computational complexity as well as possible strategies for reducing calculation amount are analyzed. Simulations of the space robot unfolding its manipulator and tracking the end-effector’s desired trajectories with the existence of obstacles and physical limits are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed obstacle avoidance strategy and MIPC control method of space robots.     

在轨服务软体机器人应用展望

软体机器人以其安全性高、功能多样、易于驱动等独特的优势，近些年来受到了广泛的关注。对软体机器人应用于未来空间在轨服务任务的设想，首先从现有用于在轨服务任务的空间机器人抓捕装置入手，分析了软体机器人用于在轨服务任务的可行性与优势，然后以软体抓捕装置为例，介绍了软体机器人的发展现状，最后提出了软体机器人用于在轨服务任务的建议。最终目标是通过将软体机器人引入在轨服务任务，提升我国在轨服务的智能化水平。     

Application of space sciences to hydrology and water resources: The potential and practical use as reflected by WMO experience

Observations from spacecraft have already proved their worth in a number of fields and much work has been undertaken to develop their use in studies of hydrology and water resources. The ability to obtain areal estimates of parameters over large areas as opposed to only point values and the inherent computer-compatibility of the data obtained are only two of the many advantages which may be stressed. However, any new technology requires the expenditure of scarce financial resources, not only on the system itself but also on associated activities. A full use of space observations in hydrology and water resources will require major changes in existing data collection, storage and processing systems. The net benefits to be gained from such changes must first be demonstrated to those responsible for these systems. A dialogue should therefore be established between those supplying the data and investigating their potential uses, and those actually engaged in the assessment and management of water resources. Examples are offered of projects in which space observations are being used and information is given on requirements for work in hydrology and water resources for data acquired by space observation.     

基于螺旋理论模块化机器人运动学分析与仿真

基于螺旋理论对模块化机器人的速度级和位移增量级运动学关系进行了分析,开发了模块化冗余度机器人的逆运动学控制算法.针对模块化机器人可能具有任意自由度和任意构型、可以经常快速安装和拆卸、易于可重构且由系列化、标准化部件组合的特性,开发了具有自动建模功能的模块化机器人仿真系统.该仿真系统由模块构造器、机器人建造器、图形示教和运动规划仿真器等分系统组成.通过一个7-DOF模块化串联机器人抓放工件的演示实例验证了所提算法和仿真系统的实用性.     

软体弯曲驱动器设计与建模

与传统的"刚性"机器人相比,基于仿生学启发的软体机器人由于其与生俱来的柔顺性和安全性受到广泛关注。然而,此类软体机器人驱动器的设计与控制目前仍缺少理论指导。针对这些问题,设计了一种由气压驱动的可实现弯曲运动的新型软体驱动器,在系统分析其结构和弯曲原理的基础上,利用几何方法和虚功原理建立了其数学模型,并且通过有限元模型和原理样机实验验证了数学模型的有效性,为软体机器人驱动器的优化设计和控制提供了依据。     

抗磁性物质磁悬浮方法在空间生物学与生物技术中的应用

失重是特定空间运动条件下的重要环境物理特征之一, 一般以微重力环境来表示. 几十年来人类利用空间失重环境进行了多学科领域的科学研究与探索. 由于真实空间失重环境下科学实验机会稀少, 人类为研究空间失重环境或效应, 开发了多种地基的空间模拟实验技术方法. 然而, 对于空间生物学和空间生物技术研究而言, 已有的各种模拟实验技术手段在原理上和应用上均存在一定的局限性. 本文介绍了抗磁性物质在大梯度强磁场中的悬浮现象, 及将其用于模拟空间失重环境的方法与原理;简述了近年来利用抗磁性物质悬浮方法进行生物大分子晶体生长、分子细胞生物学及整体生物学等方面研究与应用的进展.      

The AGROBOT project.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the AGROBOT project. This project was initiated to develop a complete robotic system for the production cycle of tomato plants in a greenhouse environment. The robot architecture is based on a vehicle carrying the picking arm (a six degrees of freedom anthropomorphic arm with a gripper/hand), the head with the two micro cameras (for the color stereoscopic vision system) and the VME rack for the complete control of the system. The head was purposely developed to permit complete visibility of the overall area. The vision system drives the head to point the path during navigation or to explore the plants looking for the work objects. The robot will be able to navigate between rows of plants, stop near each plant and identify the relevant objects (fruits or flowers) so as to be able to pick ripe tomatoes or spray anticryptogamic substances on flowers. Due to its flexible architecture, the system can be suited to operate on other kinds of cultivation or could be modified to perform other kinds of operations such as transplanting or packaging. Also the field of action could be different from greenhouses: changing from a wheeled locomotion system to a tracked system, the robot will be able to operate on particularly irregular surfaces. These features make this robotic system particularly adapted to replace human from tiring and harmful tasks or operating within adverse environment.     

基于集成学习的太阳质子事件短期预报方法

太阳质子事件是一种由太阳活动爆发时喷射并传播到近地空间的高能粒子引起的空间天气现象。这些高能粒子会对航天器和宇航员产生严重危害,对太阳质子事件进行准确的短期预报是航天活动灾害预防的重要内容。针对当前主要预报模型中普遍存在的高虚报率问题,提出了一种基于集成学习的太阳质子事件短期预报方法,利用第23个太阳活动周数据,建立了一种集成8种机器学习模型的太阳质子事件短期预报系统。实验结果表明,本文方法在取得了80.95%的报准率的同时,将虚报率降低至19.05%,相比现有的预报系统具有较为明显的优势。      

空间机械臂地面仿真与测试系统设计

摘要： 根据某型号搭载的七自由度空间机械臂的测试任务,设计一套空间机械臂地面仿真与测试系统.该系统可以完成两方面的功能：一是利用空间机械臂模拟器进行半物理仿真,对空间机械臂控制线路盒的电接口和控制软件功能进行测试;二是采用吊丝卸载装置对空间机械臂真实产品进行全物理试验,对在轨任务进行地面演示验证.利用所设计的测试系统已经完成了某型号空间机械臂的地面测试与演示验证任务,目前该型号已经发射成功,空间机械臂已经成功完成在轨试验.所设计的空间机械臂地面仿真与测试系统具有较好的通用性和扩展性,可以应用于其他空间机械臂产品的地面测试.     

空间机器人操作：一种多任务学习视角

利用空间机器人辅助、代替航天员完成在轨服务操作是近年的技术发展趋势。基于学习的空间机器人操作以深度神经网络为控制器载体,对非结构化太空环境适应能力强,在高轨、地外、深空等场景具有良好应用前景。目前,无论是空间机器人操作,还是地面机器人操作,多数研究只关注单一任务学习问题。立足一种多任务学习新视角,针对空间机器人操作面临的多任务适应性要求高、精细化要求高、不确定性强问题,首先分析了在轨服务的多样化任务需求。其次,全面综述了机器人操作多任务学习算法与应用相关工作,分析了开展空间机器人操作多任务学习的难点挑战,给出了关键技术发展建议。相关关键技术的突破将有助于提升空间机器人系统的自主性、鲁棒性,进而助力中国在轨服务技术向无人全自主方向推进。     

Changes in the central nervous system during long-duration space flight: implications for neuro-imaging.

The purpose of this paper is to review the potential functional and morphological effects of long duration space flight on the human central nervous system (CNS) and how current neuroimaging techniques may be utilized to study these effects. It must be determined if there will be any detrimental changes to the CNS from long term exposure to the space environment if human beings are to plan interplanetary missions or establish permanent space habitats. Research to date has focused primarily on the short term changes in the CNS as the result of space flight. The space environment has many factors such as weightlessness, electromagnetic fields, and radiation, that may impact upon the function and structure of the CNS. CNS changes known to occur during and after long term space flight include neurovestibular disturbances, cephalic fluid shifts, alterations in sensory perception, changes in proprioception, psychological disturbances, and cognitive changes. Animal studies have shown altered plasticity of the neural cytoarchitecture, decreased neuronal metabolism in the hypothalamus, and changes in neurotransmitter concentrations. Recent progress in the ability to study brain morphology, cerebral metabolism, and neurochemistry in vivo in the human brain would provide ample opportunity to investigate many of the changes that occur in the CNS as a result of space flight. These methods include positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).     

Systems for long duration flights

This paper describes the systems for long duration flights developed in Japan for scientific observations. Much efforts have been expended to evolve systems for long duration flights in Japan, by controlling the balloon trajectories with a knowledge of wind pattern at high altitudes over Japan. These systems called “Cycling Balloon”, “Boomerang Balloon” and “New Boomerang Balloon” have been successfully used for the observations by keeping the balloons close to the balloon station.“Relay Balloon” is another system to extend the telemetry range by using an additional balloon as a relay station to link the telemetry from the main balloon.Some detailes of the exhaust valve, ascent meter and automatic level control devices used for the balloon control are also described in the paper.     

Farming in space: environmental and biophysical concerns.

The colonization of space will depend on our ability to routinely provide for the metabolic needs (oxygen, water, and food) of a crew with minimal re-supply from Earth. On Earth, these functions are facilitated by the cultivation of plant crops, thus it is important to develop plant-based food production systems to sustain the presence of mankind in space. Farming practices on earth have evolved for thousands of years to meet both the demands of an ever-increasing population and the availability of scarce resources, and now these practices must adapt to accommodate the effects of global warming. Similar challenges are expected when earth-based agricultural practices are adapted for space-based agriculture. A key variable in space is gravity; planets (e.g. Mars, 1/3 g) and moons (e.g. Earth's moon, 1/6 g) differ from spacecraft orbiting the Earth (e.g. Space stations) or orbital transfer vehicles that are subject to microgravity. The movement of heat, water vapor, CO2 and O2 between plant surfaces and their environment is also affected by gravity. In microgravity, these processes may also be affected by reduced mass transport and thicker boundary layers around plant organs caused by the absence of buoyancy dependent convective transport. Future space farmers will have to adapt their practices to accommodate microgravity, high and low extremes in ambient temperatures, reduced atmospheric pressures, atmospheres containing high volatile organic carbon contents, and elevated to super-elevated CO2 concentrations. Farming in space must also be carried out within power-, volume-, and mass-limited life support systems and must share resources with manned crews. Improved lighting and sensor technologies will have to be developed and tested for use in space. These developments should also help make crop production in terrestrial controlled environments (plant growth chambers and greenhouses) more efficient and, therefore, make these alternative agricultural systems more economically feasible food production systems.     

一种利用正交流线坐标系求解跨音速管流的新方法

本文以正交流线坐标系为工具,采用位流模型,导出了正交流线坐标系下平面或轴对称流动的控制方程组,利用流函数与位函数的存在性,进而导出了两个首次积分。设计了一套求解匀熵管流的分凝迭代方案,模拟了管内无激波的平面或轴对称喷管的跨音速流动。数值实验表明该方法能够处理小喉道曲率半径平面或轴对称喷管跨音速流动,与已有的数值计算结果及实验结果符合较好。     

小天体附近的轨道动力学研究综述

小天体附近的轨道动力学是现代天体力学的一个重要研究方向,包含着丰富的物理现象和深刻的数学内涵;随着一系列小行星实地探测任务的深入开展,理解小天体附近的轨道运动规律也成为航天领域所面对的众多挑战之一。回顾了小天体研究和探测的历程,分析了小天体附近轨道动力学问题的基本特点和科学价值;详细介绍了航天动力学、行星学和非线性科学三个学科领域对该问题的讨论和研究进展,并列举了各领域中相关的热点问题;基于对上述研究现状的分析,尝试展望了该研究方向未来的发展趋势。