Cooperative Quaternion-based Manipulation without Force/Torque Information

This paper proposes a task-space control protocol for the collaborative manipulation of a single object by N robotic agents. The proposed methodology is decentralized in the sense that each agent utilizes information associated with its own and the object’s dynamic/kinematic parameters and no on-line communication takes place. Moreover, no feedback of the contact forces/torques is required, therefore employment of corresponding sensors is avoided. An adaptive version of the control scheme is also introduced, where the agents’ and object’s dynamic parameters are considered unknown. We also use unit quaternions to represent the object’s orientation. In addition, load sharing coefficients between the agents are employed and internal force regulation is guaranteed. Finally, experimental studies with two robotic arms verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed control protocol.