Demonstration of Space Robot Teleoperation over a Lossy and Delayed Network using ATMOS

Authors:Inkyu Jang, Gregorio Marchesini, Nicola De Carli, Byeongjun Kim, Sunwoo Hwang, Dabin Kim, Elias Krantz, Youngkyoung Kong, Frank J. Jiang, Annika Wong, Pedro Roque, Prasetyo W. L. Sanjaya, Nicola Bastianello, Mani H. Dhullipalla, Karl H. Johansson, Hyungbo Shim, Dimos V. Dimarogonas, H. Jin Kim

Abstract:We present a demonstration showcasing the Autonomy Testbed for Multi-purpose Orbiting Systems (ATMOS), a planar spacecraft-analog robot designed for hardware-in-the-loop evaluation of guidance and control strategies in microgravity-like conditions. Using ATMOS as the physical test platform, we investigate the design, analysis, and performance evaluation of control architectures for remotely operated spacecraft under round-trip communication delays. In this work, we develop and experimentally validate a control strategy that combines state prediction and trajectory tracking control to perform a docking maneuver, accounting for time-varying random communication latency between ground operators and the ATMOS system. The demonstration includes a long-distance remote control experiment between Seoul and Stockholm, introducing realistic intercontinental delays and variability. The results highlight the capability of ATMOS to support rapid, reliable, and cost-effective testing of spacecraft teleoperation concepts, establishing a first step toward robust validation of on-orbit operations in microgravity-like environments.

(c) 2026 the authors. This work has been accepted to IFAC for publication under a Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC-ND. 6 pages, 8 figures. Inkyu Jang and Gregorio Marchesini contributed equally to this work

Robotics (cs.RO); Systems and Control (eess.SY); Optimization and Control (math.OC)

arXiv:2608.14031 [cs.RO]

(or arXiv:2608.14031v1 [cs.RO] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.14031 arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)