Work

NMPC-based variable admittance control with passivity constraints

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: When robots interact with their environment, managing the physical interaction safely and accurately is critical. Impedance and admittance control allow such interaction and have been fundamental to robotic control for decades. For challenging applications, it is often necessary to implement a time-varying impedance profile, which necessitates more complex conditions to guarantee stability. This paper introduces a method to implement variable admittance control with explicit passivity constraints using non-linear model predictive control (NMPC). The dynamics of the impedance parameters are directly included in the predictive controller. Contrary to previous approaches, the computed control signals enforce simultaneously the passivity condition and the constraints, on both the robot state and the control signals.

Source: Robotics and Autonomous Systems

DOI: 10.1016/j.robot.2026.105483

Authors: Thibault Poignonec, Bernard Bayle, Loïc Cuvillon, Hassan Omran

Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Inserm, Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Ingénieur, de l'Informatique et de l'Imagerie, Université de Strasbourg

Language: English

Topic: Robot Manipulation and Learning

Subfield: Control and Systems Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,140

Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche