Design of robust controller applied for series elastic actuators in controlling humanoid's joint

Abstract

Although the application of Series elastic actuators (SEAs) in the biomechatronic field has proved its appropriation in many aspects so far, the problems of maintaining the stability for the SEAs still remains. This paper proposes a robust controller so that to overcome the drawbacks of the previous researches. Firstly, a mathematical model considering both the SEAs and the hip joint of humanoid UXA-90 is obtained. Secondly, a reference input of the proposed controller that is achieved from desired hip joint's angle in a walking cycle is utilized. Then, a backstepping based sliding mode force control approach is employed to ensure the precise movement of robot's link as well as meeting the requirement of robustness for the whole system, which is significant for the task of walking of a humanoid. Finally, some simulations are carried out to verify the quality and effectiveness of the proposed controller.