Non-holonomic Trajectory Planning Method for Free-Floating Space Robot via A Control Parameterization Approach

This paper addresses the time-optimal trajectory planning problem of the free-floating space robot. Due to the path dependent dynamic singularities, the direct kinematics equations are employed. The joint range, velocity and acceleration limits are considered. After transforming the trajectory planning problem into an unconstrained nonlinear programming problem, particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to find the optimal trajectory. In addition to the requirement for the terminal pose of the end-effector, the spacecraft attitude can also be constrained in different forms through non-holonomic constraints. Simulation results are presented for trajectory planning of a 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) space robot and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.