Continuous Contact Models for Space Manipulators Capturing Free-Floating Objects

This paper presents a comparative study of various existing continuous contact models for impact phase between space manipulator and free-floating target. Contact and impact are always present in space robotic missions that occur inevitably and frequently like the capture operation scenario. Due to the fact that the impact might cause damage or failure in space missions, the necessary precision should be taken into consideration so as to prevent undesired forces. To appraise accurately the produced forces, the authors employ various contact and impact models, including linear and nonlinear in the same situation in order to examine impact between space manipulator and target. Then, in order to draw a comparison between the proposed models for investigating the potential effects on manipulator joints and robot's base as well as target, the MATLAB simulations are done and the results are verified with MSC ADAMS software. The simulation results indicate the main differences of various models that can provide useful information for designing the impact controller.