Control of a six‐axis pneumatic robot

Abstract

Abstract The article presents a control system for a six‐degree of freedom (DOF) anthropomorphic robot powered entirely by pneumatic actuators. The control uses digital valves driven by pulse width modulation (PWM) to regulate air flow to the actuators. The robot is equipped with position sensors, which are used to provide feedback signals for local fuzzy controllers actuating the individual servoaxes. Trajectory tracking is guided by a module, which computes the robot's inverse kinematics, generating the references for the servoaxes. Experimental results illustrated in the article indicate that the controller is effective both in controlling single axes, and in tracking a trajectory. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.