Dynamic damping control: implementation issues and simulation results

Dynamic damping laws have been investigated. The approach is based on modulating the velocity feedback gain based on a model of the manipulator inertia and the desired stiffness. By using different stiffness gains, different dynamic damping laws can be obtained. In particular, joint space, gripper space, and constant bandwidth versions have been developed. Simulations have been used to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of using dynamic damping control laws over conventional computed torque and proportional-derivative (PD) control laws. The disadvantages are greater computational requirements and greater coupling of joints. The advantages are guaranteed stability, greater bandwidth for small inertias, and more effective utilization of torque. It is shown that as the manipulator inertia decreases, the amount of torque commanded by the dynamic damping control law exceeds the torque commanded by computed torque and PD controllers, resulting in greater bandwidth