Fans of classic science fiction may remember the 1972 movie Silent Running, in which bipedal robots perform maintenance work on the outer surfaces of spaceships and stations. The new MARM robot, which has three limbs at the same time and provides it with high mobility and freedom of movement, has been designed for the same purposes. The MARM robot, currently a prototype, is the development of experts from the Italian Institute of Technology (Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, IIT). It should be noted that once the same group participated in the creation of the WALK-MAN fire-fighting robot and the quadruped robot Centauro, which we once talked about on the pages of our website.

The MARM (Multi-Arm Relocatable Manipulator) robot was developed as part of the European Space Agency’s MIRROR (Multi-Arm Installation Robot to Prepare ORUs and Reflectors) program. Primarily, this robot is designed to operate outside the spacecraft outer surface, where it is capable of performing a wide range of tasks, including installing or replacing standardized modular units (orbit changing units, ORUs).

The robot consists of a base that can rotate around its axis and three limbs that can be used as both legs and hands. This approach ensures that at any given time the robot has at least two points of contact with the surface of the spacecraft and can also start moving in any direction without having to turn around. Any job is done that involves one limb of the MARM robot, while the other two limbs act as “anchors” to fix its position.

Each of the MARM robot limbs has a mechanism that allows that limb to be attached to the hexagonal tiles that take up most of the spacecraft’s outer pavement area. Using the same mechanism, you can switch or remove inputs to gain access to the docking station for data transfer or charging batteries.

Most MARM robots will operate in semi-autonomous mode, using cameras and other sensors as they move to place their limbs on exactly the right pavement. But when performing more complex tasks such as replacing external equipment, this process will be remotely controlled by a human operator.

Soon the capabilities of the MARM robot will be tested in the earth physics simulator. After that, conclusions will be drawn about the expediency of continuing to work in this direction and testing the next version of the robot in real space.