Data-based direct fuzzy control for a flexible-link manipulator

A flexible-link manipulator can lighten the weight, reduce the energy consumption and increase the flexibility, so the research on a flexible-link manipulator is valuable for the aerospace applications. In the meantime the flexible structure has an adverse effect on the stability and position precision of a payload, so the effective control for a flexible-link manipulator is one of the important research problems. A flexible-link manipulator is a distribution parameter nonlinear plant of infinite dimensions, its mathematical model is difficultly obtained, so seeking a control strategy which is independent of precise mathematical model is of practical meanings. In this paper a novel data-based direct fuzzy control strategy for a flexible-link manipulator is presented, and a method of calculation of fuzzy rules for the fuzzy controller is described according to the experiment data and linguistic information. It is demonstrated by the fuzzy control experiment of a flexible-link manipulator that the vibration suppression and precision positioning performance is achieved. The effectiveness of the presented methods is also demonstrated by the experiment result.