Trajectory planning of a free-flying robot by using the optimal control

In this paper, we consider the planar motion of a free-flying robot equippe d with the jet thrust mechanism. Based on the non-linear equations of motio n of the free-flying robot, we calculate the optimal control such that the fuel consumption is minimized and that the given terminal condition is sati sfied at the end of motion. We use Sakawa-Shindo algorithm for calculating the optimal control, which was derived on the basis of Pontryagin's maximum principle. The computational results are satisfactory and show that the al gorithm works well. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.