A Dual-arm Cooperative Manipulator: Modularized Design and Coordinated Control

Compared with a single-arm robot, dual-arm robots are more dexterous and can perform much more tasks. However, it is still very challenging when used in aerospace, industry or other fields. The kinematic and dynamic couplings between the two arms and environment make the coordinated control become very difficult. In this paper, we designed a modular dual-arm cooperative manipulator and realized a practical coordinated control method. This robot is characterized by comprehensively considering the robot performance and manufacturing cost in practical applications. Based on the analysis of working environment and function requirements, the technical index was determined and the joints were designed using the modularized concept. Then, the kinematics equations of the dual-arm robotic systems are derived. Furthermore, a dual-arm coordination control algorithm is realized by considering the manipulation task. Finally, a simulation system was developed and the task simulation was carried out. The simulation results show that the control error is very small. The designed dual-arm robot can work under efficient coordination control and meet the needs of practical applications.