PROGRAMMABLE COMPLIANCE AND EQUILIBRIUM POINT CONTROL OF A 2-DOF MANIPULATOR PERFORMING FREE-SPACE, CONTACT AND TRANSITION TASKS

摘要

Programmable mechanical compliance (PMC) in actuation is desirable for human interaction tasks and important for producing biomimetic motion. In this paper, the equilibrium point (EP) hypothesis is proposed and implemented as a strategy for controlling programmable compliance. A two-DOF planar manipulator activated by McKibben actuators was constructed for the purpose of demonstrating the application of the equilibrium point hypothesis on a robotic platform. The equilibrium angle and stiffness of each of the joints on the manipulator can be independently programmed. The results presented herein show stable behavior for free motion, interaction and transition tasks using the EP hypothesis implemented with a linear PI control strategy.