Tip Tracking Control of a Linear-Motor-Driven Flexible Manipulator with Controllable Damping

Abstract In this paper, a linear-motor-driven flexible robotic manipulator with controllable damping is presented. The dynamic model of the flexible manipulator with magnetorheolog-ical(MR) dampers is established through analyzing the force constraint of controllable MR damping and the rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of entire system via Lagrange method and assumed mode method. A controller for the flexible manipulator with MR dampers is developed to realize the dual targets of vibration suppression and accurate tip tracking for the flexible manipulator. The controller integrated output redefine adaptive robust control based on the system dynamics with damping control law according to motion state of the flexible system. Simulation results verifies the effectiveness of the proposed control method.