Motion control of multi-limbed robots for asteroid exploration missions

The interest on the study of asteroids has increased due to the recent missions that have been sent to explore such low gravity bodies. Due to its complexity, little attention has been given to close surface analysis by a mobile robotic system. In this paper, the authors present a study on the locomotion of limbed robotic systems based on the detection of friction force in an emulated microgravity environment. The issues rose by the microgravity environment and its effect on the dynamics of such robotic system during motion are addressed, and an algorithm to generate compliant motion gaits is presented. Experimental results show that the control system is capable of maintaining balanced contacts during motions.