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This paper introduces a compact, long-reach robotic manipulator with a deployable composite boom designed for lunar infrastructure construction, specifically cable routing. They characterize the boom's deflection, vibration, and blossoming, and develop a control strategy to compensate for these effects. Experimental results show the manipulator achieves an average endpoint accuracy error of less than 15 mm at boom lengths up to 1.8 m, demonstrating its suitability for lunar outfitting tasks.
A novel long-reach robot arm overcomes structural instability to thread cables with centimeter precision, unlocking new possibilities for autonomous lunar construction.
Future infrastructure construction on the lunar surface will require semi- or fully-autonomous operation from robots deployed at the build site. In particular, tasks such as electrical outfitting necessitate transport, routing, and fine manipulation of cables across large structures. To address this need, we present a compact and long-reach manipulator incorporating a deployable composite boom, capable of performing manipulation tasks across large structures and workspaces. We characterize the deflection, vibration, and blossoming characteristics inherent to the deployable structure, and present a manipulation control strategy to mitigate these effects. Experiments indicate an average endpoint accuracy error of less than 15 mm for boom lengths up to 1.8 m. We demonstrate the approach with a cable routing task to illustrate the potential for lunar outfitting applications that benefit from long reach.
Stanford HAI