Dynamics for space based robotic manipulation

In this paper, we present new results on the Hamiltonian structures of planar multibody systems. The models we obtain are reduced models accounting for the symmetry group of rigid motions in the plane. We give some new controllability and stabilizability theorems for articulating such multibody systems. The models of this paper provide a natural framework for questions of inverse kinematics arising in space based robotic manipulation. We find some very interesting applications of holonomy in this context.