Learning-based force servoing control of a robot with vision in an unknown environment

A learning-based control approach is presented for force servoing of a robot with vision in an unknown environment. Firstly, mapping relationships between image features of the servoing object and the joint angles of the robot are derived and learned by a neural network. Secondly, a learning controller based on the neural network is designed for the robot to trace the object. Thirdly, a discrete time impedance control law is obtained for the force servoing of the robot, the on-line learning algorithms for three neural networks are developed to adjust the impedance parameters of the robot in the unknown environment. Lastly, wiping experiments are carried out by using a 6 DOF industrial robot with a CCD camera and a force/torque sensor in its end effector, and the experimental results confirm the effecti veness of the approach.