Motion planning for a free-flying robot

An investigation is presented of motion planning combining low level control and obstacle avoidance for a free flying robot. This free flying robot is an outgrowth of the concept of an assistant for astronauts on the U.S. Space Station and Shuttle. A motion planner based on the Khatib potential field approach is described. Because of the uncluttered environment in space, it generates a path from representation of known obstacles rather than from a representation of free space. A global planner supplies the low level controller with interim points between the current position and the desired goal position so that the vehicle does not become trapped by local minima, a phenomenon of the potential field approach. Discussion of the feasibility of this system for space applications is presented.