Augmenting Neural Networks-Based Model Approximators in Robotic Force-Tracking Tasks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Saad, Kevin, Petrone, Vincenzo, Ferrentino, Enrico, Chiacchio, Pasquale, Braghin, Francesco, Roveda, Loris
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Saad, Kevin
Petrone, Vincenzo
Ferrentino, Enrico
Chiacchio, Pasquale
Braghin, Francesco
Roveda, Loris
author_facet Saad, Kevin
Petrone, Vincenzo
Ferrentino, Enrico
Chiacchio, Pasquale
Braghin, Francesco
Roveda, Loris
contents As robotics gains popularity, interaction control becomes crucial for ensuring force tracking in manipulator-based tasks. Typically, traditional interaction controllers either require extensive tuning, or demand expert knowledge of the environment, which is often impractical in real-world applications. This work proposes a novel control strategy leveraging Neural Networks (NNs) to enhance the force-tracking behavior of a Direct Force Controller (DFC). Unlike similar previous approaches, it accounts for the manipulator's tangential velocity, a critical factor in force exertion, especially during fast motions. The method employs an ensemble of feedforward NNs to predict contact forces, then exploits the prediction to solve an optimization problem and generate an optimal residual action, which is added to the DFC output and applied to an impedance controller. The proposed Velocity-augmented Artificial intelligence Interaction Controller for Ambiguous Models (VAICAM) is validated in the Gazebo simulator on a Franka Emika Panda robot. Against a vast set of trajectories, VAICAM achieves superior performance compared to two baseline controllers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_08440
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Augmenting Neural Networks-Based Model Approximators in Robotic Force-Tracking Tasks
Saad, Kevin
Petrone, Vincenzo
Ferrentino, Enrico
Chiacchio, Pasquale
Braghin, Francesco
Roveda, Loris
Robotics
As robotics gains popularity, interaction control becomes crucial for ensuring force tracking in manipulator-based tasks. Typically, traditional interaction controllers either require extensive tuning, or demand expert knowledge of the environment, which is often impractical in real-world applications. This work proposes a novel control strategy leveraging Neural Networks (NNs) to enhance the force-tracking behavior of a Direct Force Controller (DFC). Unlike similar previous approaches, it accounts for the manipulator's tangential velocity, a critical factor in force exertion, especially during fast motions. The method employs an ensemble of feedforward NNs to predict contact forces, then exploits the prediction to solve an optimization problem and generate an optimal residual action, which is added to the DFC output and applied to an impedance controller. The proposed Velocity-augmented Artificial intelligence Interaction Controller for Ambiguous Models (VAICAM) is validated in the Gazebo simulator on a Franka Emika Panda robot. Against a vast set of trajectories, VAICAM achieves superior performance compared to two baseline controllers.
title Augmenting Neural Networks-Based Model Approximators in Robotic Force-Tracking Tasks
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.08440