Author(s)

Murad Shibli, Sohail Anwar

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This paper presents a new nonholonomy criteria and reveals the physical interpretation of holonomoic and nonholonomic constraints acting on a free-flying space robot with or without interaction with a free Flying/Floating target object. The analysis in this paper interprets the physical interpretation behind such constraints, and clarifies geometric and kinematic conditions that generate such constraints. Moreover, a new criterion of finding the holonomy/nonholonomy of constraints impose on a free-flying space robot with or without interaction with a floating object is presented as well. The proposed criteria are applicable in case of zero or non-zero initial momentum conditions. Such nonholonomy criteria are proposed by utilizing the concept of orthogonal projection matrices and singular value decomposition (SVD). Using this methodology will also enable us to verify online whether the constraints are violated in case of real-time applications and to take a correction action or switch the controllers. This criterion is still yet valid even the interaction with floating object is lost. Applications of the proposed criteria can be dedicated to in-orbit servicing robotic satellite to capture malfunctioned spacecrafts and satellites, docking space of NASA and Russian shuttles with International Space Station (ISA), building in-orbit stations, space rescue missions and asteroids dust sampling. Finally, simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed criterion.

Honlonomic and Nonholonomic Constraints, Nonholonomy, Free-Flying Space Robot, Target Satellite

M. Shibli and S. Anwar, "A Novel Generalized Nonholonomy Criteria and Physical Interpretation of Holonomic/Nonholonomic Constraints of a Free-Flying Space Robot with/without Interaction with a Flying Target Satellite," Intelligent Control and Automation, Vol. 2 No. 4, 2011, pp. 267-283. doi: 10.4236/ica.2011.24032.