Passive Obstacle Aware Control to Follow Desired Velocities

Evaluating and updating the obstacle avoidance velocity for an autonomous robot in real-time ensures robust- ness against noise and disturbances. A passive damping con- troller can obtain the desired motion with a torque-controlled robot, which remains compliant and ensures a safe response to external perturbations. Here, we propose a novel approach for designing the passive control policy. Our algorithm com- plies with obstacle-free zones while transitioning to increased damping near obstacles to ensure collision avoidance. This approach ensures stability across diverse scenarios, effectively mitigating disturbances. Validation on a 7DoF robot arm demonstrates superior collision rejection capabilities compared to the baseline, underlining its practicality for real-world ap- plications. Our obstacle-aware damping controller represents a substantial advancement in secure robot control within complex and uncertain environments.