Deployable truss operation by ETS-VII robot arm using force accommodation control

An experiment for teleoperating a truss structure has been performed as par t of a space robotics mission on Engineering Test Satellite No. 7 (ETS-VII) . This article reports the results from truss experiments conducted by mean s of the ETS-VII robot arm using force accommodation control, which is a sp ecific control law developed for the ETS-VII robot arm. With this control f unction, the robot arm moves toward the point where the external force beco mes the command value, which is sent from the ground. This control techniqu e is useful especially in the case of teleoperation with time delay, since excessive force and torque can be avoided, and in addition, no a priori tra jectory information is required. However the robot arm cannot attain the de sired configuration for itself. These characteristics can be used for deplo yable and assembly truss operation, making full use of merits and avoiding demerits. The effectiveness is confirmed through an ETS-VII onboard experim ent.