Hierarchical intelligent control of modular manipulators Part A: neurofuzzy control design

In recent years several research groups have introduced the concept of modular and reconfigurable robotics (MRR) as a means for flexible automation. This concept allows for the execution of many complex tasks that cannot be performed by fixed configuration manipulators. Nevertheless, reconfigurable robots introduce a level of complexity to the problem of design of controllers that can handle a wide range of robot configurations with uniform and reliable performance. In parts A and B of this paper, we develop an intelligent control architecture that can be easily used in the presence of dynamic parameter uncertainty and unmodeled disturbances. The proposed architecture has several levels of hierarchy built on top of a conventional PID controller. Systematic design steps of the proposed intelligent control architecture are presented in Part A of this publication.