The University of British Columbia

The problem of controlling the tip position of a flexible-link manipulator is considered. A linear mathematical model of the flexible system is expressed in a standard singularly perturbed form. The concept of the integral manifolds is utilized to design a dynamical composite control strategy to guarantee a minimum phase closed-loop system restricted to the manifold, resulting in controlling the tip position to an arbitrary degree of accuracy by just measuring the hub angle and the tip position. Numerical simulations are included to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed technique.