Spacehand: a multi-fingered robotic hand for the use in space

Abstract

Robotic systems are not yet ready to replace human presence in space, but they provide an essential support for astronauts during routine tasks. Combined with telepresence technologies, they are ideal for hazardous or remote tasks, enabling new applications while reducing the risk and the costs associated with space operations. The Spacehand, a multi-fingered robotic hand is based on the former DEXHAND which was a technology demonstrator for a space qualifiable robotic hand. Unlike the DEXHAND, which was designed for a short term mission in ISS environment, the Spacehand shall survive a multi year servicing mission on the geostationary orbit. During the so called ''Robotic-Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites'' - mission (RSGS) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Space Systems Loral (SSL), the Spacehand shall be utilized. To meet the requirements of the RSGS mission, the electronics and the mechanics of the hand must be adapted as well as the communication interface which was changed from CAN bus to SpaceWire. On top of the SpaceWire bus a Protocol related to the ''Reliable Data Transfer Protocol'' is realized. Furthermore the DSP code can be updated during the mission by means of a special SpaceWire bootloader.