Planar Peg-in-Hole Insertion Using a Stiffness Controllable Pneumatic Manipulator
This paper presents a method for the impedance control of a pneumatic manipulator for peg-in-hole tasks without using a load cell. The control methodology presented contains a sliding mode force controller and an adaptive pressure summation relationship, which enforces the controllable natural stiffness of the pneumatic actuator. This is accomplished by utilizing two three-way proportional spool valves for each degree-of-freedom instead of a four-way valve typically used in fluid power control. Combinations of intrinsic stiffness provided by the compressibility of air and closed-loop stiffness provided by impedance parameters are studied. Experimental results are shown demonstrating that gentle transition from non-contact to contact tasks can be achieved without the use of a load cell by taking advantage of the intrinsically low stiffness of a pneumatic manipulator. Experimental results are also shown demonstrating sensorless (no load cell) force-guided insertion of a planar peg-in-hole task with position uncertainties (hole location not precisely known).