Enhanced Model-Free Adaptive Compensation Control for A Novel Self-Reconfigurable Cable-Driven Space Robotic Arm

The exponential growth of on-orbit space assets has heightened the necessity for adaptive robotic systems capable of performing a variety of tasks, including satellite capture, debris removal, and space station maintenance. Conventional fixed-configuration cable-driven space robotic arms encounter challenges when adapting to multi-scale tasks and diverse operational scenarios. This paper presents a self-reconfigurable cable-driven space robotic arm with modular linkage segments and autonomous docking mechanisms, enabling on-demand adjustment of degrees of freedom tailored to specific mission requirements. To address trajectory tracking challenges in the presence of time-varying dynamics and unknown disturbances, an enhanced model-free adaptive control (MFAC) scheme is proposed, integrating a structure-improved linear extended state observer (SLESO) for real-time modeling error estimation and compensation. The SLESO-MFAC framework integrates dynamic linearization modeling, adaptive parameter estimation, and a total disturbance-observer-based controller to achieve accurate trajectory tracking. Comparative simulations in MATLAB Simscape validate the scheme’s superior tracking accuracy, robustness, and real-time efficiency, while maintaining a low computational cost.