Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : June 01, 2022 - June 04, 2022
When capturing space debris, which is a non-cooperative object, there is not always a place where it can be grasped. Some capture mechanisms that wrap around the entire target are proposed. However, these mechanisms have a problem of failing in grasping due to the difficulty in predicting the motion in advance. The authors focused on "thigmotropism," a movement in the direction of growth that occurs as a mechanosensory response to a touch stimulus such as tendrils. This property can be used to wrap and capture debris adaptively. The authors have proposed a multi-link arm mechanism that consists of modules that operate by detecting contact and designed an operation algorithm to realize a thigmotropism-like adaptive capture. In this paper, a concept of this device and a design and prototype development of the mechanism are discussed.
