Path Following Control for Elastic Joint Robots

Abstract

This paper presents a path following control concept for elastic joint robots. A controller is designed using transverse feedback linearization and a parallel transport frame that is suitable for regular paths with parametrized fivefold continuously differentiable representation. Systematic application of the singular perturbation theory makes this concept also applicable to elastic joint robots with a larger number of degrees of freedom. A simulation example for a six-axis industrial robot shows the feasibility of the proposed approach and the advantages compared to classical trajectory tracking control.