Simultaneous stiffness and position control of the pneumatic artificial muscle actuation system
by Tad A. Driver; Xiangrong Shen
International Journal of Automation and Control (IJAAC), Vol. 7, No. 4, 2013

Abstract: Variable-stiffness actuators are highly useful in various robotic applications, especially those involving human-machine interaction and energy storage and reuse. To obtain such actuators, the pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) is a very promising candidate, leveraging its multiple advantages such as simple structure, low weight, and controllable stiffness. This paper presents a new robust control methodology, with the purpose of enabling the simultaneous and independent control of position and stiffness of PAM actuation systems. As the basis of this controller, a two-input-two-output dynamic model is established, which incorporates the major non-linearities in the system. Subsequently, the multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) sliding mode control approach is applied, with the purpose of providing a good control performance in the presence of model uncertainties and disturbances. The controller is implemented on an experimental setup, and the effectiveness of the proposed controller is validated via experimental tracking performances of both the system position and stiffness.

Online publication date: Sat, 12-Jul-2014

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