Glossary · Control
Impedance control
In brief
Impedance control regulates the dynamic relationship between force and motion at a joint or end-effector. Instead of "go to position X" or "apply torque T", the controller is told "behave like a spring with stiffness K and damping D". The robot then responds compliantly to external forces.
Impedance control is what lets a humanoid arm gently push a door open without crushing it, hold a fragile object without tracking errors causing damage, and absorb contact disturbances without freaking out. The controller specifies a virtual mass-spring-damper at the controlled point and modulates joint torques to enforce that behavior.
For humanoids, impedance control is the standard way to make manipulation safe and forgiving. End-effector impedance, joint-space impedance, and operational-space control are common variants.
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Glossary entries are upstream. The catalog is where the implementations live.