Guest Editorial: Advanced Motion Control for Mechatronic Applications With Precision and Force Requirements

Abstract

The articles in this special section focus on advanced motion control for mechatronic applications with precision and force requirements. Motion control is concerned with all the issues arising in the control of the movement of a physical device. This means that MC is not limited to the use of proper devices for sensing and actuation, in addition to suitable control algorithms, but it also deals with all the possible interactions of the controlled devices with the environment. This is the most remarkable aspect of MC, nowadays deployed in numerous mechatronic systems, especially those which are dynamically acting in heterogenous, time-varying, active, and human-accessible environments. With the progress of new technological solutions and design methods in the MC systems, like virtual sensors, human-machine and environmental interfaces and, above all, novel control strategies including observation, adaption, and precision and robustness enhancing techniques, the level of MC performance further raised in the last years. Especially, the mechatronic systems which have comprehensive application-specific requirements on the precision of controlled motion and the complying interactive forces are benefiting from the advanced MC techniques and related methods. Reduced energy consumption when inducing a controlled motion appears as an additional challenge.