Title: Robust Cooperative Manipulation without Force/Torque Measurements: Control Design and Experiments,
Abstract: This paper presents two novel control methodologies for the cooperative
manipulation of an object by N robotic agents. Firstly, we design an adaptive
control protocol which employs quaternion feedback for the object orientation
to avoid potential representation singularities. Secondly, we propose a control
protocol that guarantees predefined transient and steady-state performance for
the object trajectory. Both methodologies are decentralized, since the agents
calculate their own signals without communicating with each other, as well as
robust to external disturbances and model uncertainties. Moreover, we consider
that the grasping points are rigid, and avoid the need for force/torque
measurements. Load distribution is also included via a grasp matrix
pseudo-inverse to account for potential differences in the agents' power
capabilities. Finally, simulation and experimental results with two robotic
arms verify the theoretical findings.