ROBOT ARM CONTROL USING AN ELECTRO-RHEOLOGICAL (ER) CLUTCH-BRAKE MECHANISM: MODEL VALIDATION

摘要

Robot arm positioning is an important factor in the robotic process. However, the robot manipulator experiences positioning inaccuracies. This positioning error is due to the dynamic inefficiencies of its actuator: DC servomotor. In a bid to resolve this actuator problem, an electro-rheological (ER) clutch-brake mechanism is employed. This clutch-brake mechanism can actuate and halt the motion of the robot arm. This rotary mechanism consists of two similar clutches that are driven to rotate in the opposite directions and an individual ER brake that provides braking torques to halt the manipulator at the required positions. The main aim of this paper is to establish a control strategy for the ER actuated robot arm by means of model validation with the experimental results. This study is conducted to understand the ER robotic positioning control for future applications.