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A New Repetitive Control Framework for Robot Manipulators: Optimal Controller Design and Stability Analysis

Geun Il Song, Dohyeok Kwak, Taewan Kim, Oe Ryung Kang, Jung Hoon Kim, Wookyong Kwon

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Key figure (auto-extracted from paper)
An LMI-based H∞ optimal controller within a repetitive control framework significantly reduces tracking error and torque energy for robot manipulators while guaranteeing exponential stability.
Repetitive control H∞ optimization delay-feedback systems robot manipulators LMI synthesis monodromy operator

Problem

Existing repetitive control frameworks for robot manipulators lack rigorous optimal synthesis and tractable stability analysis for the inherent time-delay, often resulting in conservative designs and suboptimal tracking performance.

Approach

The authors reformulate the repetitive control system as a delay-feedback model and use linear matrix inequalities to synthesize an H∞ optimal controller that minimizes tracking error energy, alongside a monodromy operator-based stability proof.

Key results

  • Delay-feedback system representation for repetitive control
  • LMI-based H∞ optimal controller synthesis
  • Monodromy operator-based exponential stability condition
  • Experimental reduction of tracking error and torque energy vs. LQR and CC-filter

Why it matters

Enables robot control engineers to design provably stable, optimal repetitive controllers that enhance tracking precision and energy efficiency for periodic industrial tasks.

Abstract

This paper provides a new repetitive control framework for robot manipulators with periodic reference sig- nals. We first take the inverse dynamics (ID) approach to a robot manipulator to transform its nonlinear input/output behavior into an equivalent linear time-invariant (LTI) system, for which the conventional repetitive control strategy is employed. To facilitate an optimal controller synthesis and an associated stability analysis, we next derive the so-called delay-feedback system. We then provide a linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based optimal controller synthesis procedures for minimizing the H∞ norm from the disturbance to the tracking error. We next established operator-theoretic stability assertions in terms of the monodromy operator. In particular, a necessary and sufficient condition for the exponential stability of the delay-feedback system is derived. Finally, experiment comparisons are given to demonstrate the overall developed arguments.

Index terms

Optimization and Optimal Control Robust/Adaptive Control Motion Control

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