Demonstrating a Control Framework for Physical Human-Robot Interaction Toward Industrial Applications

Bastien Muraccioli1*,
Mathieu Celerier1*,
Mehdi Benallegue1,
Gentiane Venture1, 2
1 CNRS-AIST JRL (Joint Robotics Laboratory)
2 The University of Tokyo
Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS2025), Demo Paper submitted, pending review.
*Indicates Equal Contribution
Paper Code HAL arXiv

Video Presentation

All videos presented on this website are shown in real-time, without any acceleration, speed adjustments, or edits that could alter the perceived motion.

Abstract

Physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI) is critical for implementing Industry 5.0 which focuses on human-centric approaches. However few studies explore the practical alignment of pHRI to industrial grade performance. This paper introduces a versatile control framework designed to bridge this gap by incorporating the torque-based control modes: compliance control, null-space compliance, dual compliance, all in static and dynamic scenarios. Thanks to our second-order Quadratic Programming (QP) formulation, strict kinematic and collisions constraints are integrated into the system as safety features, and weighted hierarchy guarantees singularity-robust task tracking performance. The framework is implemented on a Kinova Gen3 collaborative robot (cobot) equipped with a Bota force/torque sensor. A DualShock 4 game controller is integrated at the robot's end-effector to demonstrate the framework's capabilities. This setup enables seamless dynamic switching between the modes, and real-time adjustment of parameters, such as transitioning between position and torque control or selecting a more robust custom-developed low-level torque controller over the default one. Built on the open-source robotic control software mc_rtc, ensuring reproducibility for both research and industrial deployment, this framework demonstrates industrial-grade performance and repeatability, showcasing its potential as a robust pHRI control system for industrial environments.

Compliant Control Modes

MY ALT TEXT

Top left: Null-space compliance, where the main task (e.g., pose of the end-effector) is stiff, and compliance is restricted to the null space of the task. Top right: Full-body compliance, where both the main task and the null space comply. Bottom: Dual compliance, where the main task becomes compliant only when interacting with the relevant part of the body involved in the kinematic task, and remaining stationary otherwise, while the robot remains compliant in the null space.

Safety Constraints

Dual Compliance

Comparison low-level Torque control: Manufacturer's vs Ours

Comparison Position Control vs Our Torque Control

Overview of the proposed control framework

MY ALT TEXT

The light-gray block represents the tasks and constraints in the QP. The light-purple block denotes the low-level torque control, ensuring desired joint acceleration and torque tracking by controlling motor currents. The light-green block corresponds to the robot hardware, including actuators and sensors. The yellow block represents the computation of external forces, which are fed into the QP.

BibTeX

@misc{muraccioli2025demonstratingcontrolframeworkphysical,
      title={Demonstrating a Control Framework for Physical Human-Robot Interaction Toward Industrial Applications}, 
      author={Bastien Muraccioli and Celerier Mathieu and Benallegue Mehdi and Venture Gentiane},
      year={2025},
      eprint={2502.02967},
      archivePrefix={arXiv},
      primaryClass={cs.RO},
      url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.02967}, 
}