The vision of the Modular On-Orbit Reconfigurable co-oPerative High-dexterity roBOT (MORPHbots) project is to develop a robotic "tool-kit" that can be self-reconfigured to optimally perform any required operation on-orbit. As the name implies, MORPHbots can transform themselves ("morph") into a variety of alternative configurations to match the needs of any given task.

Due to their small size and low mass characteristics, simple manipulators could be mounted on spacecraft to fill out mass margin left over from the design and development process. There they could be used to deploy appendages, inspect failure sites, or perform repairs from either onboard spares or supplies delivered by a small logistics craft.

 

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