Passivity-Based Interaction Controller and Observer for Robot Manipulators

Abstract

This work presents the design of a passivity-based controller and observer for a robot manipulator interacting with a compliant environment. Regulation of the contact force along the constrained direction and tracking of the end-effector position along the unconstrained directions is achieved; semiglobal exponential stability is proved. The control scheme is implemented in the joint space, and experimental results are illustrated for an open control architecture industrial robot which is endowed with joint position sensors and wrist force sensor, but no joint velocity sensors.