Development of space end-effector with capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture based on tendon-sheath transmission system

The essential requirements of the end-effector of large space manipulator are capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture. According to these requirements, an end-effector prototype combining the tendon-sheath transmission system with steel cable snaring mechanism was manufactured. An analysis method based on the coordinate transformation and the projection of key points of the mechanical interface was proposed, and it was a guideline of the end-effector design. Furthermore, the tendon-sheath transmission system was employed in the capture subassembly to reduce the inertia of the capture mechanism and enlarge the capture space. The capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture were validated through the dynamic simulation in ADAMS software. The results of the capture simulation and experiment show that the end-effector has outstanding capabilities of misalignment tolerance and soft capture. The translation misalignments in radial directions are ±100 mm, and angular misalignments about pitch and yaw are ±15.