ABSTRACT
The convergence of the fields of robotics and automation in many industrial applications is well established. During the execution of many industrial automation tasks, the robot manipulator is often in contact with its environment (either directly or indirectly via an end-effector payload). For purely positioning tasks such as spray painting that have negligible force interaction with the environment, controlling the manipulator end-effector position results in satisfactory performance. However, in applications such as polishing or grinding, the manipulator end effector will experience interaction forces from the environment. Furthermore, due to contact with the environment, the motion of the end effector in certain directions is restricted. In the field of robotics, this resulting motion is often referred to as constrained motion or compliant motion. This chapter focuses on the control strategies of manipulators for constrained motion.
