Control of a gripper finger actuated by a pneumatic muscle: new schemes based on a model-free approach

Abstract

In this paper, model-free based control strategies are applied to a finger of a gripper activated by Mckibben pneumatic muscles. In order to emulate the grasping phase of an object using a simple finger, a ”hybrid” type model-free based control strategy is proposed to manage the effort control phase, and the object release phase. The strategy is divided into a phase of approach to the object with a speed control, then a phase of contact with the object for which a control of the effort is applied to maintain a controlled pressure on the object, and finally, a release phase for which the withdrawal of the object is controlled in position. An experimental setup is introduced to experiment with the control strategies on a single phalanx finger.