Passive Obstacle Aware Control to Follow Desired Velocities

TL;DR

This paper introduces a passive obstacle-aware control method for autonomous robots that maintains stability and safety by adaptively damping near obstacles, validated on a 7DoF robot arm.

Contribution

A novel passive control policy that adapts damping based on obstacle proximity, enhancing collision avoidance and robustness in real-time robot navigation.

Findings

Superior collision rejection compared to baseline methods

Effective in diverse and uncertain environments

Ensures stability and safety during obstacle avoidance

Abstract

Evaluating and updating the obstacle avoidance velocity for an autonomous robot in real-time ensures robustness against noise and disturbances. A passive damping controller can obtain the desired motion with a torque-controlled robot, which remains compliant and ensures a safe response to external perturbations. Here, we propose a novel approach for designing the passive control policy. Our algorithm complies with obstacle-free zones while transitioning to increased damping near obstacles to ensure collision avoidance. This approach ensures stability across diverse scenarios, effectively mitigating disturbances. Validation on a 7DoF robot arm demonstrates superior collision rejection capabilities compared to the baseline, underlining its practicality for real-world applications. Our obstacle-aware damping controller represents a substantial advancement in secure robot control within complex and uncertain environments.