Gain Scheduling Control for a Class of Variable Stiffness Actuators Based on Lever Mechanisms

This paper is concerned with the design of a control strategy for variable stiffness actuators in series configuration, exploiting the lever concept to adjust the stiffness at the transmission. A control strategy based on gain scheduling is proposed, which is able to regulate both stiffness and position at output link. The gain scheduling is designed based on a set of linear quadratic regulators (LQRs), because LQR's inherent robustness properties can accommodate significant variation in the actuation plant parameters. The link positioning relies on continuous adjustment of the control effort based on the current transmission stiffness; the stiffness perceived at the output link is regulated through combined action of the transmission stiffness and the positioning gains of the scheduling strategy. The effectiveness of the controller is verified in simulation and experiments on the actuator with adjustable stiffness. The overall strategy has been proven to be locally stable.