A universal algorithm for sensorless collision detection of robot actuator faults

When a robot is working properly, it is possible to collide with people or objects entering its working space. This research is different than usual control algorithm. It proposes a universal algorithm for sensorless collision detection of robot actuator faults to enhance the security of the robot. On the basis of the dynamic model, a classical friction model to ensure the accuracy of the whole dynamic model is introduced. This collision detection algorithm can conduct without any external sensors or acceleration and realize the real-time detection just needs to measure the motor current and the location information from the encoder of the robot joint. The value of external torque τext was used to compare with the threshold to detect the collision. After using the proposed collision detection method, the two rotational (2R) planar manipulators can detect the slight collision reliably. The experimental results and performance comparisons show that this sensorless collision detection algorithm is simple and effective. It can be promoted to any other type of robot arm with more degrees of freedom.