Definition
Impedance control makes a robot behave like a mass-spring-damper system rather than rigidly tracking a position trajectory. By specifying desired stiffness, damping, and inertia parameters, the robot responds compliantly to external forces. This is critical for safe human-robot interaction, contact-rich assembly, and force-sensitive insertion tasks. Variable impedance control allows adapting these parameters online — for example, high stiffness for precise positioning and low stiffness for surface following. Most modern collaborative robots (Franka Panda, KUKA iiwa) support impedance control natively.
Why It Matters for Robot Teams
Understanding impedance control is essential for teams building real-world robot systems. Whether you are collecting demonstration data, training policies in simulation, or deploying in production, this concept directly affects your workflow and system design.