| Title | Compliant robot arm design for intrinsic safety |
| Publication Type | Conference Paper |
| Year of Publication | 2001 |
| Conference Name | Proc. IARP/RAS Workshop on Technical Challenges for Dependable Robots in Human Environments |
| Pagination | 100-106 |
| Publication Language | eng |
| Authors | Bicchi, A, Rizzini, LS, Tonietti, G |
| Editor | Giralt, G, Corke, P |
| Keywords | Physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI), Robot Arms |
| Abstract | In this paper, we describe some initial results of a project aiming at development of a programmable-compliance, inherently safe robot arm for applications in anthropic environmnets. In order to obtain safety in spite of worst-case situations (such as unexpected delays in teleoperation, or even controller failure), we will consider achieving compliance by mechanical rather than by control design. We first describe some of the control problems that the presence of large, possibly unknown mechanical compliance typically introduces, and present a result that shows the possibility to cope with these uncertainties in an adaptive way. In the second part of the paper we describe the initial development of a new prototype arm under construction in our laboratory. The arm is designed to achieve arbitrary position tracking in 3D with controlled effective compliance at the joints. |
