An adaptive computed torque controller for the I.B.M. Electric Drive Robot

The I.B.M. Electric Drive Robot (E.D.R.) is a six-link manipulator originally controlled by a classical analog P.I.D. controller. Its performance is not satisfactory because of its poor tracking capabilities and a considerable vibration during arm movement. This is the central motivation for designing an adaptive computed torque controller for this system. In order to accomplish this the physical model of the robot is first reparameterized such that it is linear with respect to a set of uncertain parameters. Once this is accomplished the adaptive controller is then formulated. Next methods of computer simulation are developed and employed. These simulation results show the superior performance of the proposed scheme over both a classical computed torque controller and the current P.I.D. controller.