Application of the Kuka Kube Test-Bed for the Hardware-in-the-Loop Validation of the Space Manipulator Control System

The on-ground validation of control systems designed for manipulators working in orbit is very difficult due to the necessity of simulating the microgravity environment on Earth. In this paper, we present the possibilities of utilising the KUKA KUBE test-bed with industrial robots to experimentally verify space systems using hardware-in-the-loop tests. The fixed-base KUKA industrial robot is operated in gravitational environment, while the space system model plant is solved in real time parallel to on-ground experiment. The test-bed measurements are the input of the model plant, and the output of the model is treated as an input for the industrial robot actuation. In the performed experiment, the control system based on the Dynamic Jacobian is validated. The desired point that is reached by the manipulator's end-effector is constant in the simulated environment and moving with respect to the test-bed frame. The position of the space manipulator's end-effector is calculated by evaluating dynamics of the satellite in real-time model. The results show that the control system applied to the KUKA robot works correctly. The measurements from the torque sensors mounted in KUKA robot's joints are in accordance with the simulation results. This fact enhances the possibilities of gravity compensation, thus simulating microgravity environment on the test-bed.