Decentralized coordinated motion control of manipulators with vision and force sensors

We propose a coordinated motion control algorithm of manipulators by which each manipulator is controlled by its own controller in a decentralized way. In this paper, we consider both the manipulation of a single object and assembly of two parts by two arms in coordination. When two arms are manipulating a single object, a follower estimates the desired motion of a leader based on the information from its own force sensor and executes the task in coordination with the leader. An assembly task is described by a motion of a part manipulated by the leader and the relative motion between two parts given to the follower. The relative motion is observed and controlled by a vision sensor attached to the follower and the assembly task is executed independently of the motion of the leader. Experimental results illustrate the proposed system.