Model Predictive Impedance Control.

Robots are more and more often designed in order to perform tasks in synergy with human operators. In this context, a current research focus for collaborative robotics lies in the design of high-performance control solutions, which ensure security in spite of unmodeled external forces. The present work provides a method based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) to allow compliant behavior when interacting with an environment, while respecting practical robotic constraints. The study shows in particular how to define the impedance control problem as a MPC problem. The approach is validated with an experimental setup including a collaborative robot. The obtained results emphasize the ability of this control strategy to solve constraints like speed, energy or jerk limits, which have a direct impact on the operator’s security during human-robot compliant interactions.