Research on a mechanical feedback-based master-slave manipulator control system

Abstract To address the safety and reliability limitations of conventional master-slave manipulator systems in harsh operational environments, this study develops a mechanical feedback-driven master-slave control system integrating a precision single-axis linear translation stage, a proportional pressure regulator, and a pneumatic servopositioning unit. The proposed system resolves the critical challenge of achieving precise control during power outages caused by natural disasters. A novel pneumatic positioning device is designed to mitigate frictional and external disturbances, with detailed dynamic modeling performed to characterize its behavior. A prototype experimental setup was constructed to comprehensively evaluate system performance through step response analysis, repetitive motion accuracy tests, and monotonic manual input tracking experiments. Experimental results demonstrate strong agreement with simulations, exhibiting a target displacement error of approximately 2%—surpassing the accuracy of conventional domestic manipulators. Robust operation is maintained under diverse conditions, including varying supply pressures (0.2–0.8 MPa) and pneumatic tubing lengths (1.8–20.7 m), fulfilling operational requirements across scenarios such as post-disaster rescue and industrial automation.