Path following and terminal force control of robotic manipulators

Abstract

In this paper, a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) scheme is proposed for the path following and terminal force control of manipulators, where not only the precise following of a predefined geometric path but also force regulation are considered. A virtual dynamics of force is added to the involved optimization problem of NMPC which represents the dynamic relationship between the end position and the contact force. Furthermore, an adaptive impedance control is proposed for changes of environmental stiffness. The simulation results show that the manipulator with the proposed scheme can track both the contact force and the path with high precision, and can adapt to the environmental stiffness changes.