Robustness analysis of a pd controller with approximate gravity compensation for robot manipulator control

Asymptotically stable robot manipulator control in both joint space and Cartesian space can be achieved by using a PD controller with gravity torque compensation. However, the stability of this class of control law has not been analyzed with the use of estimated gravity torques. The objective of this article is to present such a stability proof assuming uncertainty in the gravity estimate. The proof is carried out for the Cartesian space controller. The result is supported by computer simulation. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.