Spacecraft system for debris disposal and other operations and methods pertaining to the same
First Claim
1. A spacecraft system comprising:
- a platform including a dock and an umbilical payout device;
a robot connected to an umbilical paid out by the umbilical payout device and deployable from said dock and including;
one or more imagers,an inertial measurement unit, anda plurality of thrusters; and
a command module receiving image data from the one or more robot imagers and orientation data from the inertial measurement unit and including;
an object recognition module configured to recognize one or more objects from the received image data,determine the robot'"'"'s orientation with respect to an object, andissue thruster control commands to control movement of the robot based on the robot'"'"'s orientation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A spacecraft system and method includes a platform with a dock and an umbilical payout device. A robot is connected to an umbilical paid out by the umbilical payout device and is repeatedly deployable from the dock. The robot includes one or more imagers, an inertial measurement unit, and a plurality of thrusters. A command module receives image data from the one or more robot imagers and orientation data from the inertial measurement unit. An object recognition module is configured to recognize one or more objects from the received image data. The command module determines the robot'"'"'s orientation with respect to an object and issues thruster control commands to control movement of the robot based on the robot'"'"'s orientation. The combination of the space platform and robot on umbilical line can be used for towing another object to different orbital location, inspection including self-inspection of the robot carrying platform and for robotic servicing.
19 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A spacecraft system comprising:
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a platform including a dock and an umbilical payout device; a robot connected to an umbilical paid out by the umbilical payout device and deployable from said dock and including; one or more imagers, an inertial measurement unit, and a plurality of thrusters; and a command module receiving image data from the one or more robot imagers and orientation data from the inertial measurement unit and including; an object recognition module configured to recognize one or more objects from the received image data, determine the robot'"'"'s orientation with respect to an object, and issue thruster control commands to control movement of the robot based on the robot'"'"'s orientation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising:
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deploying a robot from a platform dock in space using an umbilical wound about an umbilical payout device associated with the dock; at the robot, generating image data and orientation data; processing the image data to recognize one or more objects imaged by the robot; processing the orientation data to determine the robot'"'"'s orientation with respect to a recognized object; and issuing thruster control commands to control movement of the robot based on the image and orientation data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A spacecraft system comprising:
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a platform including a dock and an umbilical payout device; a robot connected to an umbilical paid out by the umbilical payout device and deployable from said dock and including; a depth camera, an infrared camera, and an RGB camera, an inertial measurement unit, and a plurality of thrusters; and a command module onboard the platform receiving, via the umbilical, image data from said cameras and orientation data from the inertial measurement unit and including; an object recognition module configured to recognize one or more objects from the received image data, determine the robot'"'"'s orientation with respect to an object, and issue thruster control commands to control movement of the robot based on said image data and the robot'"'"'s orientation.
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Specification