Manipulability measure of dual-arm space robot and its application to design an optimal configuration

• A new concept of manipulability measure is proposed.
• A performance index about manipulability measure is introduced.
• The manipulability measure is used to design and choose an optimization configuration.
• Simulation results show the proposed manipulability measure is useful for a multi-arm space robot.

Coupling effect exists among different arms and the base in a multi-arm space robot. The manipulability measure of one arm can be affected by the base and the other arms, which has important effects on the configuration optimization, the singularity avoidance and the compliant control. The manipulability measure for a multi-arm space robot is more complex than that of a single-arm space robot. At present, the manipulability measure of a multi-arm space robot has not been studied. In the paper, a new concept of manipulability measure is applied to analyze the manipulability measure for a dual-arm space robot, especially for the manipulability measure of the mission arm subjecting to the influence from coupling effect of auxiliary arm and the base. Based on the manipulability measure of mission arm, a performance index is introduced and used to design and choose an optimization configuration for a dual-arm space robot. Finally, a plane dual-arm space robot is simulated, which is illustrated the influence of joint angles and the base attitude on mission arm's manipulability measure. Simulation results show that the proposed manipulability measure is useful for a multi-arm space robot and optimal configuration can be extended and applied to the coordinated soft rendezvous and docking and the target capture in the field of on-orbit servicing.