Charlotte™ Robot Technology for Space and Terrestrial Applications

A novel robot architecture has been developed which promises cost savings in a variety of applications in Space and on Earth. Utilizing cables in order to effect motion in a general workspace provides large weight savings, as well as high end effector stiffness. The architecture has been built and successfully tested in space. The capability of the robotic system to actuate those switches, dials, and buttons expected in space environments, as well as to read displays and transmit video to earth for operator feedback have been proven, and are discussed herein.