CONTROL OF INTERACTION IMPEDANCE USING AN ELECTROHYDRAULIC SERVOSYSTEM - AN APPLICATION TO ROBOTIC DEBURRING

In the field of robotic control, impedance control is seen as an effic ient method of position- and force-control during operations where the re is a dynamic interaction between the robot and the environment. In this paper, an impedance-control strategy using an electrohydraulic se rvosystem for such robotic operations is described. The impedance cont roller uses a trajectory-controlled manipulator to which is appended a n active degree of freedom in the physical domain through an electrohy draulic servosystem. The impedance of the manipulator is varied using the electrohydraulic system to obtain the desired performance at the r obot-environment interface. The complete system has been modelled and the stability and response characteristics of the system have been stu died. The case of robotic deburring is considered and the impedance-co ntrol strategy implemented for the deburring operation. Simulation res ults as well as experimental results are presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.