Performance in adaptive manipulator control

The authors explore the performance issues linked to the effective implementation of adaptive controllers for manipulators, which are nonlinear time-varying MIMO systems. Specifically, they detail issues of computational efficiency and recursive implementation, the treatment of closed chains, and minimal parameterizations. The authors also discuss extensions to interactions with mobile environments, whole-arm adaptive manipulation, adaptive impedance control, and adaptive control of spacecraft and space manipulators. The development is illustrated experimentally on a four-degree-of-freedom articulated robot arm, and suggests that the range of application of adaptive tracking controllers may extend well beyond adaptation to grasped loads