Stabilization of second-order nonholonomic systems in canonical chained form

Stabilization of a class of second-order nonholonomic systems in canonical chained form is investigated in this paper. First, the models of two typica l second-order nonholonomic systems, namely, a three-link planar manipulato r with the third joint unactuated, and a kinematic redundant manipulator wi th all joints free and driven by forces/torques imposing on the end-effecto r, are presented and converted to second-order chained form by transformati ons of coordinate and input. A discontinuous control law is then proposed t o stabilize all states of the system to the desired equilibrium point expon entially. Computer simulation is given to show the effectiveness of the pro posed controller. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.