Control gain design for bilateral teleoperation systems using linear matrix inequalities

The application of LMI methods to teleoperation with a bounded communication delay is considered. A method to design a state and force feedback controller that guarantees the stability of the system with bounded error related to the rate of change of the operator’s and environment’s exerted force is derived. A numerical example is considered and the means of choosing the design parameters introduced in the derivation are demonstrated. A trade-off between position and force fidelity is outlined, whereby the controller gain could be computed offline and used to adjust the controllers in real-time to suit the current tast. The performance is demonstrated, showing the stability of the system.