Initial experiments in thrusterless locomotion control of a free-flying robot

A two-arm free-flying robot has been constructed to study thrusterless locomotion in space. This is accomplished by pushing off or landing on a large structure in a coordinated two-arm maneuver. A new control method, called system momentum control, allows the robot to follow desired momentum trajectories and thus leap or crawl from one structure to another. The robot floats on an air-cushion, simulating in two dimensions the drag-free zero-g environment of space. The control paradigm has been verified experimentally by commanding the robot to push off a bar with both arms, rotate 180 degrees, and catch itself on another bar.