The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently shared the live working video of its Relocatable Robotic Manipulator-Technology Demonstrator (RRM-TD), also known as the ‘walking robotic arm’.
This robotic arm, developed by ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), was part of ISRO’s recent SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) mission, successfully carried out on December 30, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
ISRO announced this development as a proud milestone in India’s space robotics in its post on X.
#RRM_TD, India's first space robotic arm, is in action onboard #POEM4! A proud #MakeInIndia milestone in space robotics.
#ISRO #SpaceTech pic.twitter.com/sy3BxrtRN1
— ISRO (@isro) January 4, 2025
In addition, the organisation has also announced two other achievements, including VSSC’s Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies (CROPS) experiment that successfully sprouted cowpea seeds in four days. “Life sprouts in space! Leaves expected soon,” ISRO said, which was followed by the emergence of leaves on Monday.
The SpaDeX mission successfully demonstrated the technology for rendezvous, docking, and undocking between two small spacecraft, SDX01 (the Chaser) and SDX02 (the Target), in a low-Earth circular orbit, marking a significant leap in India’s space capabilities.
With this accomplishment, India joins the elite group of nations, including the US, Russia, and China, that have mastered this advanced technology. Adding to the excitement, ISRO released a stunning in-orbit space selfie video captured by the Chaser spacecraft, offering a glimpse into this significant achievement.
SPADEX chaser captures an in-orbit space selfie video!
#ISRO #SpaceTech pic.twitter.com/5oCdmRLtTi— ISRO (@isro) January 4, 2025
The Walking Robotic Arm
The 7 Degree of Freedom (DoF) robotic arm is an innovative technology demonstrator with the capability to perform inch-worm walking to relocate itself to defined targets on the PS4-Orbital Experiment Module (POEM)-4 platform.
The RRM-TD experiment highlights India’s progress in developing advanced in-orbit servicing technologies, such as robotic manipulators with large workspace capabilities. A high-performance computing processor powers this advanced system.
The system integrates indigenous robotic joints, arms controllers, a grappling mechanism, standardised adaptors for power and data transfer, cameras for ‘eye-in-hand’ operation, and sophisticated software featuring obstacle-aware motion planning and multiple safety layers.
The RRM-TD serves as a precursor to robotic technologies for the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS). Key features under demonstration include microgravity operations, vision-based pose estimation, visual inspection, robotic manipulation through visual servoing, end-on-end walking, compliance control, and harness-free operations using power and data grappling fixtures.
In addition, its cutting-edge capabilities, such as teleoperation and digital twin technology, demonstrate India’s commitment to self-reliance in space exploration.
Another significant robotic experiment that was part of the mission was the ‘Debris Capture Robotic Manipulator’. Developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the experiment focuses on demonstrating the capability to capture tethered debris in space using visual servoing and object motion prediction.
The robotic manipulator also features a parallel end-effector designed for object capture and manipulation, adding versatility to its operational capabilities.
Following the successful demonstration of this experiment, the manipulator will be further refined to capture free-floating debris and perform critical tasks such as refuelling both tethered and free-floating spacecraft in upcoming Platform for Orbital Experiments in Space (POEM) missions.
This is a major step toward addressing one of the most pressing challenges in space exploration – space debris management.
Other Payloads in the Mission
This mission not only provided an opportunity to conduct robotics experiments but also included 14 other payloads from ISRO/DOS centres, such as the Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA), Multi-Sensor Inertial Reference System (MIRS), Electron Temperature Analyser (ETA), etc.
Moreover, the mission also provided a chance for scientific exploration by various non-government entities (NGEs), comprising academia and startups.
This included 10 experiments from these entities, namely Mumbai’s Amity University and Manastu Space Technologies Private Limited, Bengaluru’s RV College of Engineering, Bellatrix Aerospace Pvt Ltd and GalaxEye Space Solutions Private Limited, Andhra Pradesh’s N Space Tech, Hyderabad’s TakeMe2Space, Pune’s MIT WPU, Ahmedabad’s PierSight Space, and Karnataka’s SJC Institute of Technology.
With 24 payloads flown in this POEM-4 mission, India has provided the ground for precursor experiments to validate various proof-of-concept and enabling technologies for future missions.
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