Adaptive control of an industrial robot

Abstract

SUMMARY For the past several years, industrial robots are being used extensively. These robots are generally equipped with relatively simple control systems. Such control systems have proved adequate, but with increased demand on robot performance, there is need for advanced and sophisticated controllers. One of the probelms in the control of robots is that system dynamics change due to several factors such as the orientation of arms and their effective inertia. Adaptive controllers have the advantage that the system is continuously modelled and controller parameters are evaluated on-line, thus resulting in superior performance. Adaptive controllers can be realized in several ways. This paper describes the design and performance of an explicit self tuning regulator for a robot arm.