H/sup infinity / observer based force control without force sensor

The authors propose the force control of a robot manipulator without a force sensor. The proposed force control system is realized by an H/sup infinity / acceleration controller and a H/sup infinity / force observer. The H/sup infinity / acceleration controller regulates the actuator of the robot manipulator by the acceleration control command omega /sup cmd/. The H/sup infinity / force observer estimates the imposed force to the actuator. Both H/sup infinity / systems are designed by the mixed sensitivity H/sup infinity / control design method. The experimental results show the response characteristics of both the force sensor feedback force control and the H/sup infinity / force observer based force control. It is shown that the system regulates force well.<
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