Transputer Control of Hydraulic Actuators and Robots

The paper reports and discusses results from a Danish mechatronic research program focusing on intelligent actuators for intelligent motion control. A mechatronic test facility with a transputer controlled hydraulic robot suitable for real-time experimentation and evaluation of control laws and algorithms is described. Concepts of intelligent motion control and intelligent hydraulic actuators are proposed. Promising experimental pathtracking results obtained from model-based adaptive control algorithms are presented and discussed. The experiments confirm that transputers have significant advantages in intelligent control of actuators and robots for high-speed and high-precision tasks. Further, research on learning controllers and hybrid controller architecture, including real-time switching between control algorithms, benefits from applying transputer technology.