Position/force control of a manipulator mounted on a vehicle

Abstract

To perform complex tasks with a mobile manipulator (consisting of a robot arm mounted on a vehicle) moving outdoors on an uneven ground, a first issue is to develop robust control laws for tasks in a vehicle-embedded frame. So, we have tested the behavior of the robot arm with classical control laws for several disturbances due to the motions of the vehicle. First, we have tested positioning tasks of the end effector with respect to its base reference frame with a Cartesian PID and a Cartesian Variable Structure Control—High Frequency. Then, we have tested hybrid and external force control structures for an experiment of following a surface situated on the vehicle. Results are presented in the form of graphs. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.