Development and evaluation of an end-effector for the ISS Intra-Vehicular Mobile Robot

Abstract

Currently, while a wide variety of experiments are being conducted at the International Space Station (ISS), it is also necessary to constantly perform the daily routines to maintain ISS such as cleaning and transporting supplies. In order to reduce the burden on astronauts and maximize their availability for more advanced missions, some mobile robots in ISS called Intra-Vehicular Robots (IVR) have been proposed to assist their tasks. As more versatile IVR, We propose to utilize the legged robotic technology that is capable of holding and walking by grasping the handrails for ISS crews. This paper particularly focuses on the development and performance evaluation of the gripping end-effector for that system.