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We propose a nonlinear hybrid dual quaternion feedback control law for multibody spacecraft-mounted robotic systems (SMRSs) pose control. Indeed, screw theory expressed via a unit dual quaternion representation and its associated algebra can be used to compactly formulate both the forward (position and velocity) kinematics and pose control of [Formula: see text]-degree-of-freedom robot manipulators. Recent works have also established the necessary theory for expressing the rigid multibody dynamics of an SMRS in dual quaternion algebra. Given the established framework for expressing both kinematics and dynamics of general [Formula: see text]-body SMRSs via dual quaternions, this paper proposes a dual quaternion control law that achieves simultaneous global asymptotically stable pose tracking for the end effector and the spacecraft base of an SMRS. The proposed hybrid control law is robust to chattering caused by noisy feedback and avoids the unwinding phenomenon innate to continuous-based (dual) quaternion controllers. Additionally, an actuator allocation technique is proposed in the neighborhood of system singularities to ensure bounded control inputs, with minimum deviation from the specified spacecraft base and end-effector trajectories during controller execution.
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Robust and efficient forward, differential, and inverse kinematics using dual quaternions
Modern approaches for robot kinematics employ the product of exponentials formulation, represented using homogeneous transformation matrices. Quaternions over dual numbers are an established alternative representation; however, their use presents certain challenges: the dual quaternion exponential and logarithm contain a zero-angle singularity, and many common operations are less efficient using dual quaternions than with matrices. We present a new derivation of the dual quaternion exponential and logarithm that removes the singularity, we show an implicit representation of dual quaternions offers analytical and empirical efficiency advantages compared with both matrices and explicit dual quaternions, and we derive efficient dual quaternion forms of differential and inverse position kinematics. Analytically, implicit dual quaternions are more compact and require fewer arithmetic instructions for common operations, including chaining and exponentials. Empirically, we demonstrate a 30–40% speedup on forward kinematics and a 300–500% speedup on inverse position kinematics. This work relates dual quaternions with modern exponential coordinates and demonstrates that dual quaternions are a robust and efficient representation for robot kinematics.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1823245
- PAR ID:
- 10532203
- Publisher / Repository:
- SAGE Publications
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The International Journal of Robotics Research
- Volume:
- 40
- Issue:
- 10-11
- ISSN:
- 0278-3649
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1087-1105
- Size(s):
- p. 1087-1105
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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