Hierarchical fuzzy logic control of a manipulator with slewing and deployable links

The advantages of combining a conventional controller and a knowledge-based approach are addressed in the specific context of regulating a robotic man ipulator with deployable and slewing links. A hierarchical structure having a high-speed crisp-algorithmic controller at the bottom layer and an intel ligent tuner at an upper layer is developed. The top-level intelligent tune r uses a valid set of linguistic rules for adjusting proportional-integral- derivative servos, based on the theory of fuzzy logic. The behavior of the system is evaluated on the basis of the numerical simulation results as wel l as experiments with a prototype manipulator system. Results suggest signi ficant improvement in the system performance through the fuzzy logic-based hierarchical control structure.