Set-Point Control of a Musculoskeletal System Under Gravity by a Combination of Feed-Forward and Feedback Manners Considering Output Limitation of Muscular Forces

This paper proposes a new control method for musculoskeletal systems, which combines a feed-forward input with a feedback input, while considering an output limit. Our previous research proposed a set-point control that used a complementary combination of feedback using a time delay and a muscular internal force feed-forward; it achieved robust and rapid positioning with relatively low muscular contraction forces. However, in that control method, the range of motion of the musculoskeletal system was limited within a horizontal plane. In other words, that system did not consider the effect of gravity. The controller proposed in this paper can achieve the reaching movement of the musculoskeletal system without requiring accurate physical parameters under gravity. Moreover, the input of the proposed method can be prevented from becoming saturated with the output limit. This paper describes the design of the proposed controller and demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method based on the results of numerical simulations.