Position and force control of a multifingered hand: a comparison of fuzzy logic to traditional PID control

In this paper we will discuss the control of a five-fingered, 18 degree of freedom, tendon driven robot hand known as the Atlas Anthrobot. Developing a traditional PID controller for this hand has proved difficult because the behavior of the tendon drive system produces is highly nonlinear. This nonlinear nature of the system however does suggest it as a candidate for fuzzy control. Along these lines we have developed a PID control system and a fuzzy control system for the hand which are both capable of simultaneously controlling the position of the fingertips and the amount of force exerted through a contact point on the fingertip. In this paper we will present a comparison between the two systems in order to generally make statements about the appropriateness of each controller for controlling complicated tendon driven devices such as our robot hand