Global regulation of uncertain manipulators using bounded controls

Abstract

This paper considers the position regulation problem for uncertain robot manipulators in the presence of constraints on the available actuator torques, and proposes two new controllers as solutions to this problem. The first controller is derived under the assumption that the manipulator state is measurable, while the second strategy is developed for those applications in which only position measurements are available. Each scheme consists of a nonadaptive component for gross position control and an adaptive component to ensure convergence to the desired position. The controllers are computationally simple, require very little information regarding the manipulator model or the payload, and ensure that the position error is globally convergent. The capabilities of the proposed control strategies are illustrated though both computer simulations and laboratory experiments with an IMI Zebra Zero manipulator.