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Efforts are continued to develop digital filter compensation schemes for the correction of momentum gains observed in the closed loop simulation of the docking of two satellites using the 6 DOF motion system. Several filters that work well for small delays ( .100ms) and a non-preloaded probe are discussed.
Confrontation with difficult manipulation tasks in hostile environments such as space, has led to the development of means to transport the human's senses, skills and cognition to the remote site. The use of advanced Telerobotics to achieve this goal is examined. A novel and universal hand controller based on a fully parallel mechanical architecture is discussed. The design and implementation of this 6 DOF force reflecting joystick is shown in relationship to the general philosophy of achieving telepresence in a man-machine system.
The extreme thermal environment near perihelion and the high-accuracy gravitational science experiments impose unique design requirements on various subsystems of Starprobe. This paper examines some of these requirements and their impact on the preliminary design of a six-degree-of-freedom attitude and translational control system. Attention is given to design considerations, the baseline attitude/translational control system, system modeling, and simulation studies.
This report presents results from the research grant entitled Active Control of Robot Manipulators, funded by the Goddard Space Flight Center, under Grant NAG5-780, for the period July 1, 1988 to January 1, 1989. An analysis is presented of a 6 degree-of-freedom robot end-effector built to study telerobotic assembly of NASA hardware in space. Since the end-effector is required to perform high precision motion in a limited workspace, closed-kinematic mechanisms are chosen for its design. A closed-form solution is obtained for the inverse kinematic problem and an iterative procedure employing Newton-Raphson method is proposed to solve the forward kinematic problem. A study of the end-effector workspace results in a general procedure for the workspace determination based on link constraints. Computer simulation results are presented.
Previous attempts to identify aircraft stability and control derivatives from flight test data, using three-degrees-of-freedom (3-DOF) longitudinal or lateral-directional perturbation-equations-of-motion models, suffer from the disadvantage that the coupling between the longitudinal and lateral-directional dynamics has been ignored. In this paper the identification of aircraft stability parameters is accomplished using a more accurate 6-DOF model which includes this coupling. Hierarchical system identification theory is used to reduce the computational effort involved. The 6-DOF system of equations is decomposed into two 3-DOF subsystems, one for the longitudinal dynamics and the other for the lateral-directional dynamics. The two subsystem parameter identification processes are then coordinated in such a way that the overall system parameter identification problem is solved.
The effective aerodynamic characteristics for the debris resulting from the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) are required for estimating the impact points of the debris. The paper develops a methodology that determines the effective values of the aerodynamic parameters required for performing the less complex three-degree-of-freedom (DOF) debris impact analyses. For all of the debris types, 6-DOF mass property and aerodynamic data are computed. From many 6-DOF trajectory simulations, standard deviation range values are calculated. With 3-DOF trajectory matching, these range values are used to determine the effective ballistic coefficient and the range of lift-to-drag ratios for each of the ET debris types defined.
The 6 DOF motion system was employed for closed loop simulation of the contact dynamics involved in the docking of two satellites. Under most initial conditions the system gives inaccurate results. It is well known that the presence of a time lag can generate instability in closed loop systems. In order to see if the time lag (about 200 ms.) in the 6 DOF system can can satisfactorily account for its errors, a simple computer model of the system incorporating this lag and other revelant parameters was implemented. The model in fact does predict all the observed rebound errors with reasonable precision. Also, since it is probable that the time delay can only be reduced but not eliminated, various compensation schemes were devised. Two give adequate correction for delays under 100 ms for a non preloaded probe. More powerful schemes may be adequate for the present 200 ms. environment and the presence of a preload.
The primary thrust of robotics at KSC is for the servicing of Space Shuttle remote umbilical docking functions. In order for this to occur, robots performing servicing operations must be capable of tracking a swaying Orbiter in Six Degrees of Freedom (6-DOF). Currently, in NASA KSC's Robotic Applications Development Laboratory (RADL), an ASEA IRB-90 industrial robot is being equipped with a real-time computer vision (hardware and software) system to allow it to track a simulated Orbiter interface (target) in 6-DOF. The real-time computer vision system effectively becomes the eyes for the lab robot, guiding it through a closed loop visual feedback system to move with the simulated Orbiter interface. This paper will address an understanding of this vision guidance system and how it will be applied to remote umbilical servicing at KSC. In addition, other current and future applications will be addressed.
The hybrid optimization techique for attitude control design is described in detail. The technque is capable of optimizing an n-dimensional adjustable parameter vector, but a 1-dimensional vector is used as an example to explain the procedure. This permits an easier explanation as opposed to a multidimensional case. The procedure used to derive the perturbation equations of motion describing the 6-DOF shuttle ascent phase is presented. These equations were programmed on the EAI 8800 analog computer to describe the perturbations of the shuttle vehicle from a nominal zero lift trajectory due to wind disturbances. Included are the control system equations, trim equations, and wind angle of attack equations. Analog wiring diagrams, raw data and time-varying coefficients, and state variable responses during shuttle ascent are also considered.
A general procedure is presented for systematic development of rotorcraft models for use in systems identification, which includes fuselage and rotor degrees of freedom (DOF). Formulations for rigid blade flap and lag as well as the normal mode representation of an elastic blade are developed for hingeless and articulated rotor systems. The method of multiblade coordinates is used to obtain linear constant coefficient state variable models of various levels of approximation. Two of the approximate models, a 6 DOF, are identified from a nonlinear articulated helicopter computer simulation. The results demonstrate the accuracy attainable for each model. Advanced results outline the status of rotorcraft modeling and systems identification and indicate areas that require further investigation.
The results of a six degree of freedom (6-DOF) nonlinear Monte Carlo dispersion analysis for the latest glide return to landing site (GRTLS) abort trajectory for the Space Transportation System 1 Flight are presented. For this GRTLS, the number two main engine fails at 262.5 seconds ground elapsed time. Fifty randomly selected simulations, initialized at external tank separation, are analyzed. The initial covariance matrix is a 20 x 20 matrix and includes navigation errors and dispersions in position and velocity, time, accelerometer bias, and inertial platform misalinements. In all 50 samples, speedbrake, rudder, elevon, and body flap hinge moments are acceptable. Transitions to autoland begin before 9,000 feet and there are no tailscrapes. Navigation derived dynamic pressure accuracies exceed the flight control system constraints above Mach 2.5. Three out of 50 landings exceeded tire specification limit speed of 222 knots. Pilot manual landings are expected to reduce landing speed by landing farther downrange.
A set of high speed rotating whirl experiments were performed in the vacuum of the MIT Blowdown Compressor Facility on the MIT Aeroelastic Rotor, which is structurally typical of a modern high bypass ratio turbofan stage. These tests identified the natural frequencies of whirl of the rotor system by forcing its response using an electromagnetic shaker whirl excitation system. The excitation was slowly swept in frequency at constant amplitude for several constant rotor speeds in both a forward and backward whirl direction. The natural frequencies of whirl determined by these experiments were compared to those predicted by an analytical 6 DOF model of a flexible blade-rigid disk-flexible shaft rotor. The model is also presented in terms of nondimensional parameters in order to assess the importance of the interation between the bladed disk dynamics and the shaft-disk dynamics. The correlation between the experimental and predicted natural frequencies is reasonable, given the uncertainty involved in determining the stiffness parameters of the system.
Commercial airplanes are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, placing an increasing burden on pilots to detect and resolve the exhaustive set of possible control effector failures. Automatic techniques are needed to either reconfigure an existing control law or restructure a new control law after failure. A discrete control law has been designed for the longitudinal channel of a mildly statically unstable commercial airplane, to track the glideslope during the approach to landing phase of flight. Single effector failures with time delays for failure detection and identification are analyzed for both the reconfigured and restructured control laws, and results are compared with those from previous research using a statically stable airplane. Strategies considered include reconfiguration and restructuring with new flight conditions. Validation of all cases is made using a 6 DOF nonlinear airplane simulation.
New control synthesis procedures for digital flight control systems were developed. The theoretical developments are the solution to the problem of optimal disturbance suppression in the presence of windshear. Control synthesis is accomplished using a linear quadratic cost function, the command generator tracker for trajectory following and the proportional-integral-filter control structure for practical implementation. Extensions are made to the optimal output feedback algorithm for computing feedback gains so that the multirate and optimal disturbance control designs are computed and compared for the advanced transport operating system (ATOPS). The performance of the designs is demonstrated by closed-loop poles, frequency domain multiinput sigma and eigenvalue plots and detailed nonlinear 6-DOF aircraft simulations in the terminal area in the presence of windshear.
A prototype docking mechanism for the Space Station was designed and fabricated for NASA. This docking mechanism is actively controlled and uses a set of electromechanical actuators for alignment and load attenuation. Dynamic tests are planned using the Marshall Space Flight Center's 6-DOF Motion Simulator. The proposed tests call for basic functionality verification as well as complete hardware-in-the-loop docking dynamics simulations.
The design and implementation of a robot system equipped with multiple sensors are described. The robotic assembly system couples the task sequence of the robot with information from different sensors, enabling the system to handle uncertainties encountered during task execution. The target task involves the insertion of a printed circuit board into a card cage. The sensors used are an overhead three-dimensional vision system, a fingertip cross-fire sensor, and a 6-DOF force/torque sensor. The vision system is used to locate the printed circuit boards and the insertion slots. Information provided by the cross-fire sensor is used to complement the information from the vision system in order to obtain a proper grasping location on the printed circuit board. A fuzzy-logic-based system is used to interpret the forces and torques generated by the force/torque sensor during the insertion process. The repeated success of this assembly task over many experimental trials verifies the modeling and controller assumptions.
Emulating on earth the weightlessness of a manipulator floating in space requires knowledge of the manipulator's mass properties. A method for calculating these properties by measuring the reaction forces and moments at the base of the manipulator is described. A manipulator is mounted on a 6-DOF sensor, and the reaction forces and moments at its base are measured for different positions of the links as well as for different orientations of its base. A procedure is developed to calculate from these measurements some combinations of the mass properties. The mass properties identified are not sufficiently complete for computed torque and other dynamic control techniques, but do allow compensation for the gravitational load on the links, and for simulation of weightless conditions on a space emulator. The algorithm has been experimentally demonstrated on a PUMA 260 and used to measure the independent combinations of the 16 mass parameters of the base and three proximal links.
The crew emergency return vehicle (CERV) autoland feasibility study focused on determining the controllability of the NASA Langley high lift over drag CERV for performing an automatic landing at a prescribed runway. An autoland system was developed using integral linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) design techniques. The design was verified using a nonlinear 6 DOF simulation. Simulation results demonstrate that the CERV configuration is a very flyable configuration for performing an autoland mission. Adequate stability and control was demonstrated for wind turbulence and wind shear. Control surface actuator requirements were developed.