Path Planning Research Of Aircraft Surface-cleaning Manipulator

In flight and parking, the contaminants will inevitably deposit on the outer surface of aircrafts. Getting rid of contaminants will not only keep aircraft have a clean appearance,but also prolong the life of the aircraft structure. At present, the aircraft cleaning work is mainly by manpower, which is time-consuming and cost-consuming. So a smart aircraft surface cleaning equipment is inevitable. The main topic of this research is the path planning method of a semi-automated movable aircraft surfaces cleaning manipulator with five degrees of freedom.Based on analysis of the kinematic and dynamic properties of the manipulator, the kinematic and dynamic models have been built. And the forward kinematic solution can be obtained using D-H method, as well as inverse kinematic solution, work space and Lagrange equation.According to the real condition of surface cleaning, the performance indicators have been defined. The basic demand of path planning is assurance of safety and efficiency for the surface cleaning.Taking into account the geometrical characteristics of civil aircraft surface, a cleaning path plan which is available to different cleaning region and corresponding algorithms have been proposed. In order to avoid the mutation of manipulator joint angles during cleaning work, a cleaning regional division has been made for the whole surface, which includes the top of the fuselage, side wall, belly, wings and so on. In each division,different cleaning method will be applied to reach the safety and efficiency. In case of driving the movable chassis to a fixed position, the two-dimensional map of this manipulator is shown by free space method and the grid method and an improved artificial potential field algorithm is applied in path planning. In the engine and tail unit, the path planning will be completed in configuration space with optimized A* algorithm. The critical collision situation and joint angle have been determined using geometry method. In the top of the fuselage, side wall and belly, it will complete cleaning task mainly by themovement of chassis. In the context of not cleaning some sensitive zones, an appropriate ergodic path will be generated by certain algorithm.Finally a safe and available cleaning path is proposed to complete aircraft. The estimated working time can meet the performance indicator and indicate the high efficiency.