A planar cobot modelled as a differential algebraic system

Abstract

Collaborative Robots (cobots) are devices designed for direct interaction with human operators in a shared workspace. In such devices, the human provides the necessary force for the movement of the system, while the cobot provides a virtual guiding surface. The main purpose of the virtual guiding surfaces is to direct the movement performed by the human such that a desired path can be followed. This work presents simulation results of a planar 2-DOF cobot with differential gears modelled as a differential algebraic system, that is, the well known dynamic model of a planar 2-DOF robot is subject to the algebraic constraint imposed by the velocities that exist on the differential gear train. Moreover, the force exerted by the human operator is decomposed into its cartesian components and modelled as a PD controller.