Master’s Thesis: Design of a Control Systems for Hybrid Continuum Joints for a Robotic Hand

In recent years, the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics from the German Aerospace Center has been developing anthropomorphically inspired joints called continuum joints. Their intrinsic compliance provides passive robustness and damping, allowing safe human-machine collaboration.

The main objective of the student is to develop, implement and test a control system which allows to control hybrid continuum joints for robotic manipulation tasks. Therefore, different control strategies, i.e. position control, force control and or impedance control should be evaluated.

Prerequisites

• Very good knowledge in the area of control engineering (e.g. from the lectures System Theory in Mechatronics or Modern Control 1, 2).
• Good knowledge in the field of engineering mechanics (for derivation of differential equations)
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink

Tasks:

• Interdisciplinary cooperation with groups at the institute
• Extension and commissioning of an existing test rig - Development and integration of control approaches
• Integration of own, creative ideas

The work is carried out at the German Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen.

Start: at the earliest possible date.