Impedance Control of Space Robots Using Passive Degrees of Freedom in Controller Domain

Abstract

Impedance control is an efficient and stable method of providing trajectory and force control in robotic systems. The procedure by which the impedance of the manipulator is changed is a very important aspect in the design of impedance based control schemes. In this work, a scheme is presented in which the control of impedance at the interface of the end effector and the space structure is achieved by introduction of a passive degree of freedom (DOF) in the controller of the robotic system. The impedance is shown to depend upon a compensation gain for the dynamics of the passive DOF. To illustrate the methodology, an example of a two DOF planer space robot is considered.