Stable Physical Human-Robot Interaction Using Fractional Order Admittance Control.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Control Systems Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Physical human-robot interaction (pHRI) is crucial for collaborative tasks in diverse settings.
• Current pHRI research aims to balance system stability with high interaction performance.
• Robots offer precision and strength, complementing human cognitive abilities in complex tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel fractional order admittance controller for enhanced pHRI systems.
• To analyze the stability and transparency of the proposed controller computationally and analytically.
• To experimentally validate the controller's performance and its impact on human effort.

Main Methods:

• Development of a fractional order admittance controller for pHRI.
• Computational stability and transparency analysis with human-in-the-loop.
• Impedance matching for parameter mapping from fractional to integer order.
• Analytical study of stability robustness.
• Experimental validation using human subject studies with viscoelastic environments.

Main Results:

• The fractional order admittance controller demonstrated superior robustness and transparency compared to integer order controllers.
• The fractional order term effectively reduced human effort during physical contact interactions.
• Computational and analytical methods confirmed the system's stability and robustness.

Conclusions:

• Fractional order control offers significant advantages for physical human-robot interaction.
• The proposed controller enhances performance and reduces physical strain for human operators.
• This research paves the way for more efficient and ergonomic collaborative robots.