Systems and methods for designing, testing, and validating a robotic system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12370702-B2
Application number	US-202118248643-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 12, 2021
Priority date	Oct 11, 2020
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

Systems and methods for designing, testing, and validating a robotic system for space are provided. A system includes: a robotic manipulator; a dynamic system emulator configured to simulate a motion behaviour response of a first space robotic system based on forces and moments measured by the first robotic manipulator during physical interaction of the first robotic manipulator with a second robotic manipulator emulating motion behaviour of a second space robotic system; an arm controller configured to generate a manipulator tip reference trajectory command based on the motion behaviour response simulated by the dynamic system emulator and provide the manipulator tip reference trajectory command to the robotic manipulator; and an arm mechanism in the robotic manipulator configured to track a trajectory based on the manipulator tip reference trajectory command, such that the robotic manipulator emulates motion behaviour of the first space robotic system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for ground testing robotic systems for space, the system comprising:
a first robotic testing system comprising:
a first robotic manipulator;
a first dynamic system emulator configured to simulate a motion behaviour response of a zero-gravity (0G) servicer robotic arm based on forces and moments measured by the first robotic manipulator during physical interaction of the first robotic manipulator with a second robotic manipulator emulating motion behaviour of a client space robotic system;
a first arm controller configured to generate a first manipulator tip reference trajectory command based on the motion behaviour response simulated by the first dynamic system emulator and provide the first manipulator tip reference trajectory command to the first robotic manipulator; and
a first arm mechanism in the first robotic manipulator configured to track a first trajectory based on the first manipulator tip reference trajectory command, such that the first robotic manipulator emulates motion behaviour of the 0G servicer robotic arm; and

a second robotic testing system comprising:
the second robotic manipulator;
a second dynamic system emulator configured to simulate a motion behaviour response of the client space robotic system based on forces and moments measured by the second robotic manipulator during physical interaction of the second robotic manipulator with the first robotic manipulator emulating motion behaviour of the 0G servicer robotic arm;
a second arm controller configured to generate a second manipulator tip reference trajectory command based on the motion behaviour response simulated by the second dynamic system emulator and provide the second manipulator tip reference trajectory command to the second robotic manipulator; and
a second arm mechanism in the second robotic manipulator configured to track a second trajectory based on the second manipulator tip reference trajectory command, such that the second robotic manipulator emulates motion behaviour of the client space robotic system.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a mixed reality system communicatively connected to the first and second robotic testing systems and configured to overlay a first virtual model of the 0G servicer robotic arm onto the first robotic manipulator and a second virtual model of the client space robotic system onto the second robotic manipulator.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the client space robotic system being emulated by the second robotic testing system is a free floating spacecraft.

4. A robotic testing system for ground testing performance of a space robotic system, the robotic testing system comprising:
a first robotic manipulator;
a dynamic system emulator configured to simulate a motion behaviour response of a first space robotic system based on forces and moments measured by the first robotic manipulator during physical interaction of the first robotic manipulator with a second robotic manipulator emulating motion behaviour of a second space robotic system;
an arm controller configured to generate a manipulator tip reference trajectory command based on the motion behaviour response simulated by the dynamic system emulator and provide the manipulator tip reference trajectory command to the robotic manipulator; and
an arm mechanism in the first robotic manipulator configured to track a trajectory based on the manipulator tip reference trajectory command, such that the first robotic manipulator emulates motion behaviour of the first space robotic system.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the first space robotic system is a 0G servicer robotic arm.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the first space robotic system is a client space robotic system to be serviced by a servicer robotic arm.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the client space robotic system is a free floating satellite.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a user interface for receiving an initial condition assigning an initial desired drift rate to the second robotic manipulator emulating the free floating satellite.

9. A method of ground testing and validating robotic interaction between two independent space robotic systems, the method comprising:
emulating motion behaviour of a zero-gravity (0G) servicer robotic arm with a first robotic arm using a first dynamic system emulator in the first robotic arm configured to capture manipulator tip dynamics of the 0G servicer robotic arm;
emulating motion behaviour of a free floating satellite with a second robotic arm using a second dynamic system emulator in the second robotic arm configured to capture dynamics of the free floating satellite;
physically interacting the first robotic arm with the second robotic arm while emulating the motion behaviours;
measuring forces and moments experienced by the first robotic arm based on the physical interaction via a force moment sensor (FMS) in the first robotic arm;
measuring forces and moments experienced by the second robotic arm based on the physical interaction via an FMS in the second robotic arm;
simulating a response to the measured forces and moments by the first robotic arm using the first dynamic system emulator;
simulating a response to the measured forces and moments by the second robotic arm using the second dynamic system emulator;
tracking a trajectory with the first robotic arm based on the simulated response outputted by the first dynamic system emulator; and
tracking a trajectory with the second robotic arm based on the simulated response outputted by the second dynamic system emulator.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing initial conditions to each of the first and second dynamic system emulators to determine initial states for the 0G servicer robotic arm and free floating satellite being emulated.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the initial conditions provided to the second dynamic system emulator include an initial drift of the emulated free floating satellite.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising overlaying a virtual model of the 0G servicer robotic arm being emulated onto the first robotic arm and overlaying a virtual model of the free floating satellite being emulated onto the second robotic arm.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising gravity offloading the first robotic arm to 0G via a passive offloading mechanism.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising gravity offloading the first robotic arm to 0G via an active offloading mechanism comprising a third robotic manipulator.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising adjusting a mass, inertia, stiffness, or damping property of the emulated free floating satellite by the dynamic system emulator to emulate a mass or inertia changing event on the emulated spacecraft.

Assignees

• Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Inc

Inventors

• Hiltz Michael
• Serpelloni Edoardo
• Lucas Robert
• VERZIJLENBERG Bart

Classifications

• B25J9/1671

  characterised by simulation, either to verify existing program or to create and verify new program, CAD/CAM oriented, graphic oriented programming systems · CPC title

• B64G2004/005

  Robotic manipulator systems for use in space · CPC title

• B64G7/00

  Simulating cosmonautic conditions, e.g. for conditioning crews · CPC title

• B25J9/1664

  characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning · CPC title

• B25J9/1682

  Dual arm manipulator; Coordination of several manipulators · CPC title