A Time-Domain Inverse Dynamic Tracking Control of a Single-Link Flexible Manipulator

A manipulator system with a large workspace volume and high payload capacity has greater link flexibility than do typical industrial robots and teleoperators. If link flexibility is significant, position control of the manipulator’s end-effector exhibits nonminimum-phase, noncollocated, and flexible-structure system control problems. This paper addresses inverse dynamic trajectory planning issues of a single-link flexible manipulator. The inverse dynamic equation of a single-link flexible manipulator was solved in the time-domain. By dividing the inverse system equation into its causal part and anticausal part, the inverse dynamic method calculates the feed-forward torque and the trajectories of all state variables that do not excite structural vibrations for a given end-point trajectory. Through simulation and experiment with a single-link manipulator, the effectiveness of the inverse dynamic method in producing fast and vibration-free motion has been demonstrated.