Contact control concepts in manipulation robotics/spl minus/an overview

This paper presents the state of the art in the control of robotic manipulators in constrained motion tasks. Contact control concepts are classified using different criteria, and their main characteristics are analyzed. For each of the presented contact control concepts, the essential characteristics are stated. The paper covers some early ideas and their later improvements, as well as trends in this field. The advantages and drawbacks of the various control schemes are outlined, and they are compared from the standpoint of their implementation issues. In the paper, all characteristic results in the stability analysis of robotic manipulators in the constrained motion tasks are briefly reported. A new approach to the correct solution of contact tasks control is mentioned as well.