Experimental Implementation of Impedance Based Control Schemes for Assembly Task

Compliant manipulation tasks require the robot to follow a motion trajectory and to exert a force profile while making compliant contact with a dynamic environment. For this purpose, a generalized impedance in the task space is introduced such that the desired motion and the desired interaction force can be commanded and controlled simultaneously. Several control schemes which place different emphases on motion control or force control can be derived from the generalized impedance. The impedance-based control schemes are implemented and the performance evaluated on a common test-bed which involves the insertion of a printed circuit board into an edge connector socket. Experimental results demonstrate the superior motion and force tracking ability of the generalized impedance control method. Furthermore, safe task execution can be achieved in the presence of abnormal operating situation.