To read this content please select one of the options below:

Active compliance control of the hydraulic actuated leg prototype

Guoteng Zhang (School of Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China and Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, Japan)
Zhenyu Jiang (Shenzhen Academy of Aerospace Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Yueyang Li (School of Electrical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, China)
Hui Chai (School of Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China)
Teng Chen (School of Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China)
Yibin Li (School of Control Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China)

Assembly Automation

ISSN: 0144-5154

Article publication date: 7 August 2017

291

Abstract

Purpose

Legged robots are inevitably to interact with the environment while they are moving. This paper aims to properly handle these interactions. It works to actively control the joint torques of a hydraulic-actuated leg prototype and achieve compliant motion of the leg.

Design/methodology/approach

This work focuses on the modelling and controlling of a hydraulic-actuated robot leg prototype. First, the design and kinematics of the leg prototype is introduced. Then the linearlized model for the hydraulic actuator is built, and a model-based leg joint torque controller is presented. Furthermore, the virtual model controller is implemented on the prototype leg to achieve active compliance of the leg. Effectiveness of the controllers are validated through the experiments on the physical platform as well as the results from simulations.

Findings

The hydraulic joint torque controller presented in this paper shows good torque tracking performance. And the actively compliant leg successfully emulates the performance of virtual passive components under dynamic situations.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is that it proposed a model-based active compliance controller for the hydraulic-actuated robot leg. It will be helpful for those robots that aim to achieve versatile and safe motions.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2015AA042201) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61233014).

Citation

Zhang, G., Jiang, Z., Li, Y., Chai, H., Chen, T. and Li, Y. (2017), "Active compliance control of the hydraulic actuated leg prototype", Assembly Automation, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 356-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/AA-11-2016-160

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles