A robust hybrid intelligent position/force control scheme for cooperative manipulators

We examine in this paper the complex problem of simultaneous position and internal force control in multiple cooperative manipulator systems. This is done in the presence of unwanted parametric and modeling uncertainties as well as external disturbances. A decentralized adaptive hybrid intelligent control scheme is proposed here. The controller makes use of a multi-input multi-output fuzzy logic engine and a systematic online adaptation mechanism. Unlike conventional adaptive controllers, the proposed controller does not require a precise dynamical model of the system's dynamics. As a matter of fact, the controller can achieve its control objectives starting from partial or no a priori knowledge of the system's dynamics. The ability to incorporate the already acquired knowledge about the system's dynamics is among what distinguishes the proposed controller from its predecessor adaptive fuzzy controllers. Using a Lyapunov stability approach, the,controller is proven to be robust in the face of varying intensity levels of the aforementioned uncertainties. The position and the internal force errors are also shown to asymptotically converge to zero under such conditions.