IMC-based Design for Teleoperation Systems with Time Delays

The presence of time delays in communication introduces a limitation to the stability of bilateral teleoperation systems. In this study, we address the design of Internal Model Control (IMC)-based controllers for teleoperation systems with arbitrary time delays. The two degrees of freedom IMC structure is utilized for the master and the slave respectively and thus the passivity-assumption on the external forces is not required. The stability of the overall system is analyzed by regarding the whole system as a multivariable system. A performance-oriented controller design process which guarantees the delayed tracking between the master and the slave is also given. Finally, an example is given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.