Trajectory Tracking Control of Dual-PAM Soft Actuator With Hysteresis Compensator

Abstract

Soft robotics is a swiftly evolving field. Pneumatic actuators are suitable for driving soft robots because of their superior performance. However, their control is challenging due to the hysteresis characteristics. In response to this challenge, we propose an adaptive control method to compensate for the hysteresis of soft actuators. Employing a novel dual pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) bending actuator, the innovative control approach abates hysteresis effects by dynamically modulating gains within a traditional PID controller corresponding to the predicted variation of the reference trajectory. Through experimental evaluation, we found that the proposed control method outperforms its conventional counterparts regarding tracking accuracy and response speed. Our work reveals a new direction for advancing model-free control in soft actuators.