Climbing Strategy of Variable Topology Cellular Space Robots Considering Configuration Optimization

In optimizing the energy consumption of a cellular space robot (CSR) climbing in orbit, traditional trajectory planning methods do not include the configuration as a decision variable; thus, it is difficult to obtain an effective energy-optimal climbing strategy for CSRs. To solve this kind of problem, first, we considered the effect of configuration on the kinetic parameters of the robot and established the kinetic equations of a variable-size cellular space robot by combining the spin volume and Lagrange equations. Second, we constructed a higher-order continuous joint trajectory using a cubic spline curve and combined it with a robot dynamics model to establish a robot climbing energy consumption model. Finally, for the energy consumption problem of climbing in cellular space robots, we proposed a comprehensive optimization algorithm considering the configuration and climbing time. Compared with another algorithm in the literature, the algorithm proposed in this paper has stronger global optimization capability and convergence. The simulation results have important theoretical significance and engineering practical value for the study of space robot on-orbit climbing trajectory optimization strategies.