Contact control of flexible micro/macro-manipulators

Contact force control of a long-reach micro/macro-manipulator, in which the macro-manipulator is flexible, is discussed in this paper. The proposed contact force control algorithm smooths the manipulator's transition from a free-space motion to contact with an unknown environment. Using a force sensor at the wrist and a strain measurement at the flexible link, the micro-manipulator regulates the contact force to a desired value without causing contact instability. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller in an industrial hydraulic manipulator testbed.