DYNAMICS OF 2 COOPERATING FLEXIBLE-LINK MANIPULATORS - PLANAR CASE

In this paper, the dynamics of two cooperating flexible-link manipulat ors is studied. The formulation of the problem is carried out in both Cartesian and joint spaces. The finite element method is used to discr etize the flexible links. Then, the Lagrange equations and the methodo logy of the natural orthogonal complement are used to derive the minim al set of equations governing the motion of the cooperating manipulato rs. As an example, the simulation of two cooperating manipulators with three rigid degrees of freedom is presented for both rigid and flexib le-link models to show the effect of link flexibility.