Hierarchical Control Architecture for Large Range Robots with Static Deflection Correction

Abstract Conventional control strategies, based on PID or PD controllers and linear models, are non-suitable and result completely inefficient for large range robots with hydraulic actuators. New control methods are necessary in order to achieve high performance with a reasonable time consuming algorithm, useful in a real time control system. A control system based on a fuzzy supervisory that implements a hierarchical distributed but non decoupled strategy has been developed and successfully implemented in a large range robot. A specific system has been included in order to reduce the position errors due to the static deflection of the robot structure. The hardware and software control architecture and the results of its implementation are presented in this paper.