Adaptive Model-Reference Position Control of Dual-Arm Manipulators

This paper describes a discrete-time adaptive control scheme for cooperating dual-arm manipulators. The two robot arms cooperate in performing the task of transferring a load from an initial position to a fimal position by carrying it at two grasping poits. Each robot is position-controlled so that its end-effector will track a specified trajectory in Cartesian space despite unknown and time-varying interaction fores and torques exerted through the load. The adaptive controllers do not require the complex mathematical model of the arm dynamics or any knowledge of the arm dynamic/load parameters.