Caging-based grasp with flexible manipulation for robust capture of a free-floating target

This paper discusses robust capture of a free-floating target using a robotic arm. The position error resulting from sensor errors and time delay can cause undesired contact and unstable control. In this paper, we propose a caging-based rigid gripper and impedance control, which enables the robot to capture the target robustly without precise motion tracking and large force interaction. The performance of the proposed method is verified experimentally using an air-floating system that emulates planar microgravity motion.