REPOSITIONING CONTROL OF A 2-LINK FLEXIBLE ARM BY LEARNING

A finite dimensional algorithm is presented which by trial searches fo r a control law is able to move a two-link flexible arm between two gi ven equilibrium configurations in a finite time interval. Using a sing ular perturbation analysis, the possibility of considering the system as a linear perturbed one is shown, allowing the use of a linear learn ing algorithm which is able to reject all the nonlinear disturbances. The effectiveness of this algorithm is proven by theoretical arguments and experimental results. Robustness with respect to unmodeled high f requency dynamics is also addressed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.