Review of Fault-Tolerant Control Systems Used in Robotic Manipulators

Abstract

Control systems that ensure robot operation during failures are necessary, particularly when manipulators are operating in hazardous or hard-to-reach environments. In such applications, fault-tolerant robot controllers should detect failures and, using fault-tolerant control methods, be able to continue operation without human intervention. Fault-tolerant control (FTC) is becoming increasingly important in all industries, including production lines in which modern robotic manipulators are used. The use of fault-tolerant systems in robotics can prevent the production line from being immobilized due to minor faults. In this paper, an overview of the current state-of-the-art methods of fault-tolerant control in robotic manipulators is provided. This review covers publications from 2003 to 2022. The article pays special attention to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), i.e., fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks, as well as sliding mode and other control methods, in the FTC of robotic manipulators. The cited and described publications were mostly found using Google Scholar.