Energy-aware adaptive interaction control using offline task-based optimization in an impedance control framework

Energy-aware control is a control methodology stemming from ideas in port-Hamiltonian system theory. In this method, setting the energy of the system and its variation gives analytic information that is directly used in the design of the control law, providing a systematic way to
ensure important aspects like passivity, stability, and safety.

One of the main advantages of energy-aware control is that it can naturally be used for nonlinear systems. One place where such nonlinear
dynamics arise is in compliant actuation systems where a compliant element's stiffness can be continuously modulated, for example in
Variable Stiffness Actuators (VSAs).

Despite the elegance of the energy-based approach, widely developed in recent years, a clear strategy on how to use energy-based concepts for nontrivial tasks is missing. This MSc thesis assignment focuses on the development of such a strategy for a system with stiffness modulation, to uncover the true potential of energy-aware control.