Online Inertia Parameter Estimation for Unknown Objects Grasped by a Manipulator Towards Space Applications

TL;DR

This paper presents an online method for estimating the inertia parameters of unknown objects grasped by space manipulators, crucial for precise control in space applications, validated through simulations showing high accuracy.

Contribution

It extends existing online inertia estimation techniques by incorporating momentum conservation, enabling application to free-floating space robots.

Findings

Accurate inertia parameter estimation demonstrated in simulations

Method applicable to on-orbit servicing scenarios

Enhanced estimation accuracy for space manipulation tasks

Abstract

Knowing the inertia parameters of a grasped object is crucial for dynamics-aware manipulation, especially in space robotics with free-floating bases. This work addresses the problem of estimating the inertia parameters of an unknown target object during manipulation. We apply and extend an existing online identification method by incorporating momentum conservation, enabling its use for the floating-base robots. The proposed method is validated through numerical simulations, and the estimated parameters are compared with ground-truth values. Results demonstrate accurate identification in the scenarios, highlighting the method's applicability to on-orbit servicing and other space missions.