A DDS based real-time simulation architecture for space robotic tele-operation

This paper presents a new distributed real- Time simulation architecture based on Data Distribution Service (DDS) for space robotic tele-operation tasks. The objective of this paper is to make the simulation architecture open for collaborative tele-operation research and provide the operator an intuitive view of space robotic tele-operation in a wide set of scenarios. The mission profile and background of space robotic tele-operation are firstly recalled. Within this context, a closer look into RACOON (Real- Time Attitude Control and On-Orbit Navigation) system overall design and simulation environment are described. Secondly, the detailed characters of DDS, including DDS specification and its core idea of data distribution, are exhibited. Thirdly, RacoonSim system, which comprises multi-body dynamics, autonomous mission management (AMM), path & trajectory planning and control subsystems of space manipulator, is introduced. Additionally, a user-friendly Virtually Reality (VR) user interface for coexistence of working operator and space robot is developed, which is composed of 3D space mouse, joystick and Head-Up Display (HUD) as part of the Mission Control Center (MCC). Well-designed system architecture makes the Hardware-in-loop (HIL) simulation possible and can be extended easily in the future. The experiments particularly demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed simulation system architecture.