0191-9067/83 $3.00 + .00 Copyright 10 1983 SUNSAT Energy Council THE SHUTTLE REMOTE MANIPULATOR SYSTEM: CANADARM—A ROBOT ARM IN SPACE C. G. J. WAGNER-BARTAK Corporate Office Spar Aerospace Limited 6303 Airport Road Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4V IR8 Abstract — With the Shuttle operational, space is opened up for industrial and public service activities that will benefit all areas of society. Developing this potential, with time, personnel and consumables at a premium, makes the use of automation for task accomplishment a necessity. The diversity of the tasks has caused a critical look at machine intelligence and the man/machine relationship and has resulted in development of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS). This system provides interactive computer and human control so that either can possess executive system management. The RMS offers the astroworker a dextrous cybernetic system that increases his strength, sensory perception and reach limitations, and is the first generation of space based robotic manipulators that will eventually become the workhorse for space-based industrialization. This paper reviews the RMS, its operational status and discusses the extrapolation of this technology to meet the needs of future robotic devices that will assist in on-orbit manufacturing servicing, the deployment of orbiter auxiliary power sources and the construction of platforms for such applications as solar power conversion. INTRODUCTION Man distinguishes himself from other creatures by his ability to use tools to improve the quality of his life. His use of tools has been a benchmark of each age and stand as a monument to his needs, aspirations and technological advancement. Today we stand on the threshold of another major step in machine evolution, the development of intelligent machines. These machines, robots, could work with total autonomy with man placed merely as an onlooker, and operate in unstructured environments where the relative positions of machine and workpiece are unknown or continually changing. The requirement to work at various points within a task space requires a multidegree of freedom structure analogous to an arm with a working terminal device analogous to a hand. Most advances in robotics, therefore, have taken place by the enhancement and redesign of manipulator systems. This pioneering has proceeded in parallel within the manufacturing, medical, nuclear and space industries. Within the manufacturing industry, typical applications are welding, inspection and painting. Within the medical rehabilitative field, they provide new levels of independence to patients in their living and vocational activities, and within hazardous environments such as the nuclear industry and space, they protect man and extend his otherwise limited manipulative capability. For each of these applications, factors that push forward manipulator develop-
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