POSITION CONTROL OF FLEXIBLE ROBOT ARMS USING MECHANICAL WAVES

A novel position control strategy for flexible robot arms based on wav e propagation and absorption techniques is presented. The arm is model ed by a lumped-parameter mass-spring system with an actuator at one en d a,td a load mass at the other. The actuator is required to position the remote load and, simultaneously, to provide active vibration dampi ng. Ir does so by propagating mechanical waves through the system and absorbing respected waves. Only the first two masses and springs need to be characterized and observed to determine the required actuator mo vement. The control algorithm is robust and compares very favorably wi th the time-optimal performance of bang-bang control. It is also inher ently adaptive.