Risk-sensitive interaction control in uncertain manipulation tasks

Manipulation tasks are a great challenge for robots due to the uncertainty arising from unstructured environments. In this paper we propose a novel control scheme for contact tasks based on risk-sensitive optimal feedback control. It provides a systematic approach to adjust the trade-off between motion and force control under uncertainty. Following a previously acquired task model, the proposed approach provides both a variable stiffness solution and a motion reference adaptation. This control scheme achieves increased adaptability under previously unseen environmental variability. An implementation on a robotic manipulator validates the applicability and adaptability of the proposed control approach in two different manipulation tasks.