Nonlinear hybrid impedance control for hydrodynamically coupled dual-arm underwater manipulators

Sandeep Yadav
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (SLIET), Longowal 148106, India
Sunil Kumar
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (SLIET), Longowal 148106, India
Manoj Goyal
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (SLIET), Longowal 148106, India
Pravin Kumar
Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS), Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore), Indore 453552, India

Article ID: 4510

Keywords: dual-arm underwater robotic manipulator; hydrodynamic coupling; impedance control; force–position control; PID controller; MATLAB/Simulink simulation; hydrodynamic modelling

Abstract

Underwater robotic manipulators require precise force–position interaction control to perform reliable operations in uncertain and dynamically coupled underwater environments. However, the performance of conventional impedance controllers is significantly degraded by nonlinear hydrodynamic disturbances, structural flexibility, and dynamic coupling effects. This paper proposes a hydrodynamic coupling-aware hybrid impedance control framework for a dual-arm with two-link underwater robotic manipulator (DT–URM). The proposed strategy integrates a passive impedance formulation with a compensation gain and a proportional–integral–derivative (PID)-bas–ed auxiliary loop to enhance interaction stability, trajectory-tracking accuracy, and disturbance-rejection capability. A DT–URM model is developed in SolidWorks and validated in MATLAB/Simulink under nonlinear underwater operating conditions. To evaluate controller robustness under realistic dynamics, the framework is further extended to a flexible two-link underwater manipulator by incorporating hydrodynamic and buoyancy effects into the system model. In addition, interaction constraints are introduced to maintain safe distances from virtual boundaries during manipulation tasks. Comparative simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller reduces trajectory tracking and force-tracking errors by 18.5%, respectively, compared with conventional impedance control. Furthermore, disturbance rejection capability and settling time are improved by 19%, respectively, while maintaining stable operation under varying environmental conditions. The results confirm that the proposed control framework improves dynamic interaction performance and robustness, making it suitable for underwater inspection, maintenance, and cooperative manipulation applications.

Published

2026-08-31

How to Cite

Yadav, S., Kumar, S., Goyal, M., & Kumar, P. (2026). Nonlinear hybrid impedance control for hydrodynamically coupled dual-arm underwater manipulators. Advances in Differential Equations and Control Processes, 33(3). https://doi.org/10.59400/adecp4510

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Issue

Vol. 33 No. 3 (2026): In Progress

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Article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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