Development and Experimental Validation of a Closed-Loop Interaction-Force Controller for Dielectric Elastomer Actuators

This paper addresses the development of a force feedback controller for an agonist-antagonist conically-shaped Dielectric Elastomer linear actuator. The controller employs a position sensor, which determines the actuator configuration, and a force sensor, which measures the interaction force the actuator exchanges with the environment, and implements an optimum full-state observer, which enables both accurate estimation of the time-dependent behaviour of the elastomeric material and adequate suppression of sensor measurement noise. Experimental results are provided to validate the proposed Dielectric Elastomer actuator-controller architecture.