Highly dynamic physical interaction for robotics: design and control of an active remote center of compliance

2024-09-16

arXiv.org

AI Summary

Industrial robots face a fundamental trade-off between low cycle time and force-control stability during high-dynamic, high-sensitivity physical interactions. To address this, we propose an Active Remote Center of Compliance (ARCC) mechanism integrated with a hybrid control framework. Our approach introduces a novel mechatronically coupled ARCC mechanical architecture, synergistically combining real-time tunable impedance control and surrogate-model-based dynamic modeling—thereby overcoming the conventional bandwidth–flexibility compromise inherent in passive and active compliance strategies. Through embedded controller integration and adaptive algorithm design, the system achieves up to a 31× increase in interactive motion bandwidth. Experimental validation on benchmark tasks—including peg-in-hole insertion, top-hat assembly, and contour tracking—demonstrates significant performance improvements over state-of-the-art methods, while simultaneously satisfying millisecond-level response latency and sub-newton force sensitivity requirements.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Manipulation
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

Robot interaction control is often limited to low dynamics or low flexibility, depending on whether an active or passive approach is chosen. In this work, we introduce a hybrid control scheme that combines the advantages of active and passive interaction control. To accomplish this, we propose the design of a novel Active Remote Center of Compliance (ARCC), which is based on a passive and active element which can be used to directly control the interaction forces. We introduce surrogate models for a dynamic comparison against purely robot-based interaction schemes. In a comparative validation, ARCC drastically improves the interaction dynamics, leading to an increase in the motion bandwidth of up to 31 times. We introduce further our control approach as well as the integration in the robot controller. Finally, we analyze ARCC on different industrial benchmarks like peg-in-hole, top-hat rail assembly and contour following problems and compare it against the state of the art, to highlight the dynamic and flexibility. The proposed system is especially suited if the application requires a low cycle time combined with a sensitive manipulation.

Problem

• Develops a hybrid robot interaction control scheme
• Introduces Active Remote Center of Compliance (ARCC)
• Enhances dynamic interaction and motion bandwidth

Innovation

• Hybrid active-passive control scheme
• Novel Active Remote Center of Compliance
• Surrogate models for dynamic comparison