An obstacle avoidance scheme for space manipulator based on adjusting spacecraft attitude at minimum angles

Abstract To solve the obstacle avoidance problem of the degenerated six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) space manipulator system, this paper proposes an obstacle avoidance scheme for space manipulators based on adjusting spacecraft attitude at minimum angles. During the motion of the space manipulator, if a potential collision of obstacles is detected, the attitude angles of the spacecraft are cooperatively adjusted at minimum angles to bypass the obstacle, and the end-effector of the manipulator can continue to move along the predetermined trajectory. In this way, the floating attribute of the spacecraft is fully utilized, and the three DOFs provided by the triaxial attitude are used for cooperative obstacle avoidance planning. This method achieves a significantly reduced computational load and is easy to implement in engineering, making it very suitable for space manipulator systems with insufficient processor computing capabilities, and it can achieve online real-time autonomous obstacles.