Estimation-based iterative learning control
Abstract: In many applications industrial robots perform the same motion repeatedly. One way of compensating the repetitive part of the error is by using iterative learning control (ILC). The ILC algorithm makes use of the measured errors and iteratively calculates a correction signal that is applied to the system.The main topic of the thesis is to apply an ILC algorithm to a dynamic system where the controlled variable is not measured. A remedy for handling this difficulty is to use additional sensors in combination with signal processing algorithms to obtain estimates of the controlled variable. A framework for analysis of ILC algorithms is proposed for the situation when an ILC algorithm uses an estimate of the controlled variable. This is a relevant research problem in for example industrial robot applications, where normally only the motor angular positions are measured while the control objective is to follow a desired tool path. Additionally, the dynamic model of the flexible robot structure suffers from uncertainties. The behaviour when a system having these difficulties is controlled by an ILC algorithm using measured variables directly is illustrated experimentally, on both a serial and a parallel robot, and in simulations of a flexible two-mass model. It is shown that the correction of the tool-position error is limited by the accuracy of the robot model.The benefits of estimation-based ILC is illustrated for cases when fusing measurements of the robot motor angular positions with measurements from an additional accelerometer mounted on the robot tool to form a tool-position estimate. Estimation-based ILC is studied in simulations on a flexible two-mass model and on a flexible nonlinear two-link robot model, as well as in experiments on a parallel robot. The results show that it is possible to improve the tool performance when a tool-position estimate is used in the ILC algorithm, compared to when the original measurements available are used directly in the algorithm. Furthermore, the resulting performance relies on the quality of the estimate, as expected.In the last part of the thesis, some implementation aspects of ILC are discussed. Since the ILC algorithm involves filtering of signals over finite-time intervals, often using non-causal filters, it is important that the boundary effects of the filtering operations are appropriately handled when implementing the algorithm. It is illustrated by theoretical analysis and in simulations that the method of implementation can have large influence over stability and convergence properties of the algorithm.
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