Task geometry aware assistance for kinesthetic teaching of redundant robots
Dimitrios Papageorgiou, Sotiris Stavridis, Christos Papakonstantinou, Zoe Doulgeri
Abstract
Kinesthetic teaching allows the direct skill transfer from the human to the robot through physical human-robot interaction. However, it is heavily affected by the robot’s dynamics and the control scheme utilized for the physical interaction. In this work, we aim at assisting the human-teacher by reducing her/his physical and cognitive load. To this aim, we propose a controller with virtual fixtures and inertia optimization for assisting kinesthetic teaching, exploiting knowledge of the task geometry and the robot redundancy. Experimental results utilizing a KUKA LWR4+ robot for the teaching of a brush painting motion on a curved surface validate the method and demonstrate its performance in comparison with a gravity compensation scheme and the utilization of virtual fixtures alone. The system is proved to be passive under the exertion of a human force.