Control

Admittance Control

Admittance control is an interaction control scheme that measures external forces and responds by modifying the robot's commanded motion, rendering a virtual mass-spring-damper: force in, motion out. It is the dual of impedance control, which commands forces in response to measured motion. Admittance control suits stiff, position-controlled industrial arms with a wrist force/torque sensor, though it can become unstable in contact with very rigid environments.

Why it matters for physical AI

Admittance loops let stiff industrial arms be hand-guided for kinesthetic teaching and comply safely during contact-rich learned tasks, making them a common substrate under demonstration collection and deployed manipulation policies.