Force Tracking Impedance Control of Robot Manipulators for Environment with Damping

In this paper, a simple force tracking algorithm for robot manipulators is presented. In the framework of impedance control formulation, the controller can deal with uncertainties from unknown environment and unknown robot dynamics. Uncertainties in the robot dynamics are compensated by the time-delayed joint space control method. The damping characteristic of the environment which is usually ignored in the impedance force formulation is considered. The stability of the impedance function is analyzed and assured under uncertain environment. Extensive simulation studies are presented for testing the performance of the impedance function.