Control of interaction impedance using an electrohydraulic servosystem: An application to robotic deburring

In the field of robotic control, impedance control is seen as an efficient method of position-and force-control during operations where there is a dynamic interaction between the robot and the environment. In this paper, an impedance-control strategy using an electrohydraulic servosystem for such robotic operations is described. The impedance controller uses a trajectory-controlled manipulator to which is appended an active degree of freedom in the physical domain through an electrohydraulic servosystem. The impedance of the manipulator is varied using the electrohydraulic system to obtain the desired performance at the robot-environment interface. The complete system has been modelled and the stability and response characteristics of the system have been studied. The case of robotic deburring is considered and the impedance-control strategy implemented for the deburring operation. Simulation results as well as experimental results are presented. © 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.