Fuzzy impedance control for robots in complex spatial edge following

In automating manufacturing process of aircraft wings, one of the most difficult tasks is to apply sealant onto its edge surfaces. This is mainly due to the fact that the wing edge surfaces are in complex spatial forms. If a robot is to be employed to perform such a task, position control alone for robots will not be sufficient. A passive or active force control strategy has to be employed. In this paper a fuzzy logic based impedance control algorithm is introduced for this application. The performance of this fuzzy impedance control is compared with that of the neural impedance and conventional impedance control. Simulation results are used to show the effectiveness of using such a fuzzy impedance controller.