Ngo, KhoiMahony, Robert2015-12-132015-12-13December 50958758379http://hdl.handle.net/1885/79100This paper presents a passivity-based controller design capable of achieving autonomous obstacle avoidance for robot manipulators subject to joint position and joint rate constraints. The control objectives are achieved by exploiting the passivity properties of the system and utilizing barrier function ideas to reshape the control Lyapunov function. The final control Lyapunov function is reminiscent of those used in the artificial potential field method.Keywords: Artificial potential field method; Barrier functions; Control Lyapunov function; Control objectives; Passivity based control; Passivity properties; Passivity-based controllers; Rate constraints; Robot manipulator; Controllers; Flexible manipulators; Indus20052016-02-24