Reduced Order Control of Soft Robots with Guaranteed Stability

Abstract

This work offers the ability to design a closed-loop strategy to control the dynamics of soft robots. A numerical model of a robot is obtained using the Finite Element Method, which leads to work with large-scale systems that are difficult to control. The main contribution is a reduced order model-based control law, that consists in two main features: a reduced state feedback tunes the performance while a Lyapunov function guarantees the stability of the large-scale closed-loop systems. The method is generic and usable for any soft robot, as long as a FEM model is obtained. Simulation results show that we can control and reduce the settling time of the soft robot and make it converge faster without oscillations to a desired position.