Large payload manipulation by space robots

Kinematic models for multiple manipulator space robotic systems are developed, as functions of body-fixed barycentric vectors. These models are used to define workspaces for single- and multi-manipulator free-floating systems. It is shown that following the capture of a large payload, the location of these workspaces in space changes, and their size is reduced. These effects, common in single- and multi-manipulator systems, must be taken into account during the planning of manipulation tasks in space. A procedure for manipulating a large payload is proposed. Given a payload and its desired path in space, this procedure yields an optimum grasping posture to ensure successful manipulation of the payload.