Inertia Parameter Identification of Unknown Objects Handled by a Space Robot

Abstract

This paper is concerned with two parameter identification methods for inertial parameters of the unknown object handled by manipulators on a free-flying space robot under the condition that the robot is free to translate and rotate. One method is based on the conservation principle of linear and angular momentum, and the other on Newton-Euler equations of motion. Only the linear/angular velocities and accelerations of the satellite are used in the identification methods with no information of the force and torque utilized. The feasibility of the methods is demonstrated by a hardware experiment on the ground as well as numerical simulations.