Dynamics and robust control of underactuated manipulators

Abstract

A robust control scheme of underactuated manipulators using brakes at passive joints is presented to overcome actuator failures and uncertainties. The proposed control scheme has two control stages, that is, the passive joint control stage and the active joint control stage. Note that all passive joints are locked by their own brakes as soon as they reach their desired set-points with zero velocity. To illustrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed control scheme, simulation results for a three-link planar robot arm with a passive joint are presented.