Sensor-Based Control for Collaborative Robots: Fundamentals, Challenges, and Opportunities

The objective of this paper is to present a systematic review of existing sensor-based control methodologies for applications that involve direct interaction between humans and robots, in the form of either physical collaboration or safe coexistence. To this end, we first introduce the basic formulation of the sensor-servo problem, and then, present its most common approaches: vision-based, touch-based, audio-based, and distance-based control. Afterwards, we discuss and formalize the methods that integrate heterogeneous sensors at the control level. The surveyed body of literature is classified according to various factors such as: sensor type, sensor integration method, and application domain. Finally, we discuss open problems, potential applications, and future research directions.