Design and Comparison of Two Control Strategies for Multi-DOF Articulated Robotic Arm Manipulator

Abstract

This paper is aimed at mathematical modeling and design of a robust control strategy for a multi Degree Of Freedom (DOF) manipulator. A novel AUTonomous Articulated Robotic Educational Platform (AUTAREP) centered on a 6 DOF arm is introduced in the research. Both the kinematic and dynamic models of the AUTAREP arm have been derived. Kinematic model has been validated in simulation as well as by the results of experiments conducted on AUTAREP prototype while mathematical formulation verifies the dynamic model of the arm. Based on the system dynamics, Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) for the arm has been designed. The realized controller has been then subjected to various test trajectories to characterize its response. The tracking performance of the controller is compared with another non-linear control strategy Computed Torque Control (CTC). Based on various performance indices, simulation results demonstrate superior performance of SMC over its CTC counterpart.