This master’s thesis examines the impact of a two-handed (bimanual) impedance controller on kinesthetic teaching in robotic systems. The thesis presents a classic example of human-robot physical interaction (pHRI) within kinesthetic learning, expanded here to a two-armed robotic system. The main problem is to find the best interaction parameters between the two robots so the operator can intuitively control both manipulators or the whole system. The goal is intuitive, simultaneous kinesthetic control to reduce physical strain and shorten learning or demonstration time.
The first chapter describes the problem of human-robot collaboration in bimanual tasks. It presents a review of the literature on imitation learning and control methods. Next, the chapter defines the research objectives and hypotheses.
The second chapter presents the theoretical foundations of bimanual robotics, including system kinematics and the basics of impedance control, which form the basis for the development of the controller used in this study.
The third chapter describes the experimental setup, which is based on two KUKA LBR iiwa robotic manipulators. The software tools used and the implementation of the bimanual impedance controller are presented in detail.
The fourth chapter is dedicated to a comparison of various software solutions for controlling KUKA robots. It analyzes solutions offered by the manufacturer as well as several developed by the research community. Based on the required functionalities, the choice of software solution for our case is justified.
Chapter 5 presents the technical implementation of the bimanual impedance controller in detail. The chapter includes details on the software libraries used and the solution to the redundancy problem for the given task, and concludes with the pseudocode of the algorithm for calculating the control variable.
Chapter 6 covers the experimental part of the master’s thesis and the analysis of the results. First, the characteristics are defined based on which we compared the performance of the task under different settings of the controller’s relative stiffness, followed by a description of the methods for analyzing and interpreting the results of the experimental work.
The concluding chapter summarizes the key findings of the research, evaluates the proposed hypotheses, and provides a critical assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the developed system. Finally, possibilities for further improvements to the control algorithm in the direction of adaptive control are presented.
|