  This work presents the computational design and validation of the Multi-Arm
Relocatable Manipulator (MARM), a three-limb robot for space applications, with
particular reference to the MIRROR (i.e., the Multi-arm Installation Robot for
Readying ORUs and Reflectors) use-case scenario as proposed by the European
Space Agency. A holistic computational design and validation pipeline is
proposed, with the aim of comparing different limb designs, as well as ensuring
that valid limb candidates enable MARM to perform the complex loco-manipulation
tasks required. Motivated by the task complexity in terms of kinematic
reachability, (self)-collision avoidance, contact wrench limits, and motor
torque limits affecting Earth experiments, this work leverages on multiple
state-of-art planning and control approaches to aid the robot design and
validation. These include sampling-based planning on manifolds, non-linear
trajectory optimization, and quadratic programs for inverse dynamics
computations with constraints. Finally, we present the attained MARM design and
conduct preliminary tests for hardware validation through a set of lab
experiments.

Robotics