Motion Analysis of Robotic Arm Capture Mechanism for Space Tumbling Target Capture

The increasing frequency of space launch activities has led to a continuous rise in the number of space tumbling targets, making space orbit cleaning imperative. With space debris cleaning technology as the research background and a five-degree-of-freedom robotic arm as the research object, this study utilizes the D-H method for modeling. By employing geometric and analytical methods, the joint angle variables are obtained. MATLAB is used to model the robotic arm, and based on Euler-poinsot motion inversion, the trajectory of the space tumbling target is derived. Deviation-free approaching trajectories of the Euler-poinsot motion end effector are planned. The Monte Carlo method is used to discuss the feasible region problem of the robotic arm. A position-velocity feedback control strategy with feedforward compensation is adopted to ensure precise tracking of the tumbling target by the gripper. Simulation results show that the steady-state error between the actual and planned trajectories is small, indicating the effectiveness of the capture mechanism and the accuracy of end gripper tracking. The study concludes that a robotic arm with five or more degrees of freedom is necessary to capture targets performing Euler-poinsot motion. The results provide valuable insights and references for subsequent research on in-orbit service robotic arms and rigid capture methods for space tumbling targets.