Satellite assembly technology by robot under visual guidance and force feedback control

Abstract

Satellites are usually produced in one piece or in small batches, the assembly operation is not repetitive. In order to apply industrial robots to satellite assembly, robot technology under visual guidance and force feedback control was studied, so that the robot can adapt to different working conditions in satellite assembly. In this paper, a satellite assembly scheme based on robot is presented, auxiliary pins are installed on the mounting holes, the robot conveys the component to the tapered guide area of the pins under visual guidance, then the force feedback control is applied to the robot, the component is accurately installed under the pin guidance. Infrared cameras and “rigid body” consisting of cooperative targets were used in the visual guidance system to measure the target pose. A probe tool was designed and a measurement method was given to achieve convenient measurement of the target point. The force/position hybrid control method is used to achieve compliant pin guidance of robot. The experiment results show that under the visual guidance, the robot can transport the component to the guide range of the pin, and can accurately assemble the component in place under pin guidance and force feedback control. The technology can meet the engineering implementation requirements for satellite component assembly.