Inverse Dynamics Control in Robotics Applications

About the Book

This book presents both the foundations and implementation aspects of the inverse dynamics control, and examines how the solution of the inverse dynamics problem can be used for the development of controllers for selected engineering applications. The inverse dynamics control approach is directly related to the solution of the inverse dynamics problem considered in analytical mechanics. Having the specified motion and the desired properties of the resulting system, the control inputs that ensure the realization of these control objectives are to be found. By appropriately inverting the dynamic model of the plant to be controlled, a control law can be constructed which cancels the nonlinear part of the dynamics, decouples the interactions between the regulated variables, and specifies the time characteristics of the decay of the task errors.

The constrained system formalism is used throughout the book and its usefulness for inverse dynamics formulation is established. The capability of the inverse dynamics controller to enforce the execution of prescribed motion of the system and at the same time to control the interaction forces with the environment is demonstrated. A new approach for the task space decomposition needed for hybrid position/force control is developed, motivated by constrained system formalism and linear algebra methods. The application of the inverse dynamics control is illustrated for several exemplary mechanical systems and for a wide variety of robotic systems; including robots constrained by the environment, robots with flexible joints, multiple robot arms, etc. Pure nonlinear inverse dynamics control is considered, as well as its robust version, and the approximate solutions to the problem. The results of numerical simulations and real-time experiments are presented to support the analytical developments. More than 200 literature sources are referred to in the book.

Many mechanical systems considered in engineering practice are dynamically similar to the class of systems considered in this book. The new applications for inverse dynamics solutions arise in such fields as high precision robot manipulator control, flight control, biomechanics, vehicle control, and in many related areas. Therefore, the book can be of interest to specialists involved in developing control laws for a large variety of mechanical systems.

About the Author

Krzysztof P. Jankowski received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Warsaw University of Technology. Since his graduation, he has been teaching and conducting research in the fields of system dynamics and control. He has worked at the Warsaw University of Technology and Radom Technical University in Poland, Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, and McMaster University and University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. From 1995, he has been working in the US automotive industry with such companies as Ricardo, Inc., General Motors, TRW, and currently with Intier Automotive.

His research interests are in the areas of dynamics of combined mechanical/control systems, vehicle dynamics and control, and mechatronics. They include robotics applications such as control of robot arms with flexibilities, invariant hybrid position/force control, and coordinated control of multiple-arm robotic systems. His automotive activities involve modeling, simulation, and analysis of vehicle dynamic properties, driveline vibrations, vehicle control systems, and development of computer aided tools for vehicle dynamics and control. He is currently involved in the development of vehicle door closure mechanisms and analytical methodologies to ensure their proper functioning and satisfactory crash performance. Dr. Jankowski published 37 articles in leading engineering periodicals and conference proceedings.