Feedback linearization for decoupled position/stiffness control of bidirectional antagonistic drives

Abstract

To ensure safe human-robot interaction impedance robot control has arisen as one of the key challenges in robotics. This paper elaborates control of bidirectional antagonistic drives - qbmove maker pro. Due to its mechanical structure, both position and stiffness of bidirectional antagonistic drives could be controlled independently. To that end, we applied feedback linearization. Feedback linearization based approach initially decouples systems in two linear single-input-single-output subsystems: position subsystem and stiffness subsystem. The paper elaborates preconditions for feedback linearization and its implementation. The paper presents simulation results that prove the concept but points out application issues due to the complex mechanical structure of the bidirectional antagonistic drives.