The Space Station Freedom special purpose dexterous manipulator (SPDM)

Canada is contributing a robotic mobile servicing system (MSS) to the Space Station Freedom, which will play an integral role in the assembly of Freedom and its operation. One element of the MSS, the special purpose dexterous manipulator, is a dual arm robot having the capability to perform dexterous tasks. The SPDM will replace much of the extravehicular astronaut activity which would otherwise be required for maintenance and assembly of the station. In order to enhance the operational efficiency and autonomy of the SPDM and the other MSS robotic elements, technology development efforts have been undertaken. The author describes the SPDM design and discusses the SPDM tools, vision system, control system, and ground testbed