How can the programming of impedance control be simplified?

Impedance control uses force/torque measurements to adapt a robot's motion, broadening a robot's capabilities in contact tasks. However, potential benefits of impedance control are largely not realized in industry, partly due to complexity: it requires a large number of parameters (compliance frame, impedance parameters, reference position/force) and expertise to set these parameters for a specific application. Pre-defined action templates can be used to hide and preset parameters as required for a specific action, potentially reducing the expertise and time required for an integration. However, objectives and methods to design such primitives are not well-established. This paper considers application requirements common in impedance control, and how actions can be designed to support such requirements. Parameter sensitivity and independence are considered, supported experimentally with a 'hole-in-peg' assembly task, where the impact of compliance frame and environmental uncertainty are analyzed.