Coordinated Dynamic Hybrid Position/Force Control for Multiple Robot Manipulators Handling One Constrained Object

In coordinated manipulation of a single object using multiple robot arms or a multifingered robot hand, simultaneous control of the object motion and of the internal force exerted by arms or fingers on the object is required. Furthermore, in the case where the motion of the object is constrained in some direc tions because of contact with its environment, control of the constraint force also becomes necessary. In this article, we pro pose a coordinated dynamic hybrid control method for multiple robotic mechanisms. The method takes the manipulator dynam ics and object dynamics into consideration and controls the motion of an object under constraint as well as the constraint force and the internal force. The motion control of an object in free space can be treated as a special case within the same formulation. A unified description for accommodating various grasp types is used. Several experimental results that show the validity of the proposed approach are presented. The results of this article will be useful for fine manipulation tasks using multiple robotic mechanisms, where the individual specifications of the object motion, the interaction force between the object and its environment, and the grasping force of the object are given.