Open AccessDesign and experiments of a bio-inspired tensegrity spine robot for active space debris capturing
Author(s) -
Xinliang Feng,
Zhigang Wu,
Zijie Wang,
Jiahui Luo,
Xiaoming Xu,
Zhoujingzi Qiu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1885/5/052024
Subject(s) - tensegrity , robot , mechanism (biology) , bending , computer science , conical surface , simulation , engineering , control engineering , structural engineering , artificial intelligence , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
Aiming at active space debris capturing, this paper proposes a novel tensegrity spine robot, inspired by the structure and mechanism of vertebrates’ spine. It consists of a series of conical rigid elements, which are linked with springs and stabilized in a tension network. The continuous bending of the robot is achieved by the actuation of three sets of cables. A prototype is built and a closed-loop control method is proposed for proof-of-concept experiments, including bending motion control, capturing a non-cooperative target, and tests of load performance. The experimental results show that the proposed tensegrity spine robot has potential application prospects in space debris capturing.