Hardware-in-the-loop simulation of massive-payload manipulation on orbit

This paper describes a hardware-in-the-loop simulation of massive-payload manipulation on orbit using a master–slave teleoperation system. The main problems in teleoperating a space robot arm from the earth to manipulate a massive payload are communication delay, unexpected excessive force generated between the slave arm and the payload, and geometric/dynamic modeling error. In order to overcome those problems, a teleoperation system using mixed force and motion commands is discussed. The teleoperation system is verified by performing hardware-in-the-loop simulations.