Abstract
This paper proposes a method of energy efficient trajectory control for free-flying space manipulators. The proposed method reduces control torque in the manipulation by using redundant degrees of freedom in the manipulator motion. The required torque is reduced by controlling the major axis of the dynamic manipulability ellipsoid (DME) to the direction of the desired end-effector motion as close as possible. A numerical example is given for a model of planer 3-link space manipulator to show the feasibility of the present local control algorithm. This paper also investigates the influence of various mass distribution due to the added mass at the endeffector.
