Robustness Investigation of Adaptive Control Under Reference Model Switching for a Cylindrical Robot

Space robots are expected to play a significant role in future space missions. This requires a thorough investigation into the capabilities of such robots. A typical task that will need to be performed by the space robot is the capture and manipulation of large objects. This could increase the mass of the robot by as much as 100%. Additionally, the object capture task will require the robot to handle high dynamic disturbance. The control system of the robot must maintain stability under these harsh conditions. In this paper, the authors have conducted an investigation into the robustness properties of a new robot control strategy based on the Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) Algorithm under switching of the reference model. Experimental results of the investigation are presented for a three degree-of-freedom cylindrical robot. The new control scheme is demonstrated to be a powerful approach to the difficult problems that will be encountered in space robotics control.