A decentralized controllability measure for robotic manipulators

A global dynamic performance measure for manipulators with decentralized control systems is given. The measure is defined on the base of a weak explicit condition on the inverse inertia matrix which is necessary and sufficient for a manipulator to be independent joint controllable (IJC). Most properly designed nonredundant manipulators can be IJC. For a planar three-degree-of-freedom manipulator to be IJC, a simple inequality is derived to show how the link masses should decrease in progressing from the base to the gripper.<
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