Suppressing violent sloshing flow in food serving robots

This article presents the self-balancing slosh-free control (SBSFC) scheme, a notable advancement for stable navigation in food-serving robots. The uniqueness of SBSFC is that it does not require direct modeling of slosh dynamics. Utilizing just two inertial measurement units (IMUs), the proposed scheme offers an online solution, obviating the need for complex dynamics or high-cost supplementary systems. Central to this work is the design of a control strategy favorable for sloshing suppression, achieved through feedforward reference shaping and disturbance compensation. This means the SBSFC indirectly alleviates and compensates for sloshing effects, rather than directly controlling them as a state variable by relying on pixel-based measurements of sloshing. Key contributions include rapid slosh damping via reference shaping, robust posture stabilization through optimal control, and enhanced disturbance handling with a disturbance observer. These strategies synergistically ensure immediate vibration reduction and long-term stability under real-world conditions. This study is expected to lead to a significant leap forward in commercial food-serving robotics.