State-feedback and Linear Quadratic regulator applied to a single-link flexible manipulator

This work presents a comparative study of two different control strategies for a flexible single-link robotic manipulator. The dynamic model of the flexible manipulator involves modeling the rotational base and the flexible link as rigid bodies using the Lagrange's method. The resulting system has one degree-of-freedom (1 DOF). Two types of regulators are studied and discussed: the state-feedback controller, and the linear-quadratic regulator (LQR). While the latter is obtained by resolving the Riccati equation, the state-feedback consists on poles placement. A simulation is performed on MATLAB (7.5.0)/SIMULINK (V7.0)®, and later on, experiments were achieved on the flexible beam Quanser module. Experimental results are presented and compared at the end of this paper.