Virtual actuator control

Robots typically have an individual actuator at each joint which can result in a non-intuitive and difficult control problem. In this paper we present a control method in which the real joint actuators are used to mimic virtual actuators which can be more intuitive and hence make the control problem more straightforward. Our virtual actuator control method requires a solution to the force distribution problem when applied to parallel mechanisms. An extension of Gardner's Partitioned Actuator Set Control method is presented. This extended method allows for dealing with constrained degrees of freedom in which the torque cannot be specified but can be measured. A simulated hexapod robot was developed to test the proposed control method. The virtual actuators allowed textbook control solutions to be used in controlling this highly non-linear, parallel mechanism. Using a simple linear control law, the robot walked while simultaneously balancing a pendulum and tracking an object.