Comparison Studies of Two Major Force Control Algorithms for a Single Axis Force Control of a Robot Manipulator

This paper presents the comparison studies of two major force control algorithms such as hybrid force control and impedance force control for a single axis force control application. The difference between two algorithms is how to regulate the contact force, directly or indirectly. Hybrid force control regulates the desired force by minimizing a force error directly, while impedance force control regulates the contact force indirectly. The performances of two force control methods are tested and compared empirically for two different environments with soft and hard stiffness. The characteristics of two force control algorithms are experimentally compared.