Low-Reaction Trajectory Generation for a Legged Robot in Microgravity

This paper presents a method to generate a low-reaction trajectory for the swing leg of a climbing-legged robot aiming for microgravity locomotion. The movement of any part of the robot generates reactions that could cause the detachment of the gripper, making the robot float away from the surface. A polynomial curve is proposed to be the trajectory connecting initial and final points, minimizing the momentum variation generated by the motion of the leg. Dynamic simulations were performed to verify that the proposed method effectively reduces motion reactions, increasing the overall stability of a robot moving in microgravity. Aspects of the shape of the generated low-reaction trajectory are discussed based on the inertia of the leg and how it affects the motion reactions.