Predictive path-following control: Concept and implementation for an industrial robot

Many robotic applications, such as milling, glueing, or high precision measurements require the exact following of a pre-defined geometric path. We outline nonlinear model predictive control approaches to path-following problems. We show the real-time feasibility of predictive path following applied to an industrial robot. Specifically, we consider constrained output path following with and without pre-specified reference speeds. The proposed predictive path-following approach is experimentally validated considering a KUKA lightweight robot IV.