Regressor-free force/position control of fixed-base exoskeletons for rehabilitation tasks

The required tasks in fixed-base exoskeletons demand a fast position/force controller; yet robust against unknown disturbances due to the application itself is tightly coupled with a human in a wide range of operational conditions, which give rise to human-exoskeleton interaction dynamics, high nonlinear uncertain exoskeleton dynamics, noisy sensors and other parametric uncertainties, such as environmental contacts. These factors do not allow to account on a precise dynamical model, thus model-based (regressor-based) controllers are difficult to implement. This paper deals with a regressor-free smooth PID-like fast force/position controller which guarantees finite-time convergence within second order sliding modes, thus ensuring inherent robustness. Experimental platform allows assessing its performance for rehabilitation tasks, which validates its functionality in practical implementation.