Real Time MEMS-Based Joint Friction Identification for Enhanced Dynamic Performance in Robotic Applications

The mechatronic design approach to robotics deploys, inter alia, widely available mechanical design engineering tools that, together with standard production techniques, allow the accurate quantification of the system’s mass properties. While this enables the synthesis of model-based centralized controllers, friction still limits the achievable dynamic performances, as its prediction at the design stage is hampered by complex dependencies on loads, temperature, wear, and lubrication. Further uncertainties affecting mechatronic devices stem from the actuation systems, whose parameters are specified by the manufacturer with relatively loose accuracy. These challenges are addressed here through a method based on MEMS IMUs for the real-time estimation of both friction effects and uncertain actuator parameters. The resulting model, inclusive of the frictionless dynamics, is applied in a closed loop to improve the control performance. An experimental comparison with decentralized and non-adaptive regulators highlights severalfold reductions in tracking errors; the ability to track temperature-dependent friction variations is also shown. From this work, it may be concluded that the use of MEMS sensors, together with identification and adaptive control algorithms, sensibly increases the dynamic performance of robotic systems. The real-time properties of the method also enable future investigations into topics such as MEMS-based diagnostics and predictive maintenance.