Computed torque control of an under-actuated service robot platform modeled by natural coordinates

Abstract

The paper investigates the motion planning of a suspended service robot platform equipped with ducted fan actuators. The platform consists of an RRT robot and a cable suspended swinging actuator that form a subsequent parallel kinematic chain and it is equipped with ducted fan actuators. In spite of the complementary ducted fan actuators, the system is under-actuated. The method of computed torques is applied to control the motion of the robot. The under-actuated systems have less control inputs than degrees of freedom. We assume that the investigated under-actuated system has desired outputs of the same number as inputs. In spite of the fact that the inverse dynamical calculation leads to the solution of a system of differential–algebraic equations (DAE), the desired control inputs can be determined uniquely by the method of computed torques. We use natural (Cartesian) coordinates to describe the configuration of the robot, while a set of algebraic equations represents the geometric constraints. In this modeling approach the mathematical model of the dynamical system itself is also a DAE. The paper discusses the inverse dynamics problem of the complex hybrid robotic system. The results include the desired actuator forces as well as the nominal coordinates corresponding to the desired motion of the carried payload. The method of computed torque control with a PD controller is applied to under-actuated systems described by natural coordinates, while the inverse dynamics is solved via the backward Euler discretization of the DAE system for which a general formalism is proposed. The results are compared with the closed form results obtained by simplified models of the system. Numerical simulation and experiments demonstrate the applicability of the presented concepts.