auto docking arms (mod request)

[tremonthedgehog]

I was looking through the mod list and there was one thing that I thought would be there that turns out hasn't been made yet auto docking arms my idea is that we have three arms one for each size they can either have a docking port each size would determine what size docking port or a claw the idea is for example if you have a craft that has no RCS and therefore cannot dock but can get close enough then that's where the arm comes in handy whoever decides to develop this mod I thank you and please either respond here or personal message me.

[ColdJ]

9 minutes ago, tremonthedgehog said:

I was looking through the mod list and there was one thing that I thought would be there that turns out hasn't been made yet auto docking arms my idea is that we have three arms one for each size they can either have a docking port each size would determine what size docking port or a claw the idea is for example if you have a craft that has no RCS and therefore cannot dock but can get close enough then that's where the arm comes in handy whoever decides to develop this mod I thank you and please either respond here or personal message me.

Slight problem, Docking ports have a speed limit that if you go over (it's like 1 metre a second) they refuse to dock, so if you don't have fine control from RCS then it is going to be a problem. The creator of the Kerbal Attachment system mod has been talking about a grappling cable, so maybe if they get that working?

[darthgently]

3 hours ago, tremonthedgehog said:

I was looking through the mod list and there was one thing that I thought would be there that turns out hasn't been made yet auto docking arms my idea is that we have three arms one for each size they can either have a docking port each size would determine what size docking port or a claw the idea is for example if you have a craft that has no RCS and therefore cannot dock but can get close enough then that's where the arm comes in handy whoever decides to develop this mod I thank you and please either respond here or personal message me.

You can maybe use the patented Matt Lowne docking technique.  Get the docking ports mostly pointed at each other and within a meter or so with very close to zero relative velocity.  Go eat lunch or do a chore.  Come back and by the magic of magnetic ports, they will be docked.

[HebaruSan]

Well in the real space station, I believe they use this to berth cargo shipments (mods apparently very out of date):

But I don't know that this idea would do much to help with the problem described.

14 hours ago, tremonthedgehog said:

if you have a craft that has no RCS and therefore cannot dock but can get close enough then that's where the arm comes in handy

Attaching a grabber arm would still require precise maneuvering. If you can't dock, then you're going to have trouble getting your craft lined up to and touching the arm.

Edited April 13, 2022 by HebaruSan

[HandyAndy]

I did build a robotic arm using many stock robotic parts, with the klaw on the end. I was able to use this to capture a spacecraft that came very close and stopped still right in front of me using precise RCS thrust. However the effort required to align every single elbow joint was massive and very annoying, and I found out soon that once the new ship had become part of the space station on the end of the klaw, it would no longer dock to a docking port while using the arm. So while it was a fun idea, it's not really feasible the way the game is right now.

To address your original problem of a craft not having RCS, you can use the main engine to match velocity, and have a klaw on the end of a long piston, and shoot it out as quick and accurately as you can when the moment is right, without any aiming of rotating joints. This would accomplish refueling (like a mid-air refueling probe on a jet fighter) but depending how realistically you want to play probably wouldn't be appropriate for transferring crew. Unless of course you used Tweakscale or similar to make the piston and the klaw much bigger!!

I'd be interested to hear if you made a robotic arm that worked for 'berthing'.

Edited May 5, 2022 by HandyAndy
grammar, clarity