Trajectory tracking of spatial flexible link manipulators using inverse kinematics solution and vibration suppression

In this paper a new method for solving the inverse kinematics problem of elastic link manipulators is presented. The inverse kinematics problem is considered as a differential-algebraic problem with differential equations of motion and kinematic constraints to be satisfied. A method to integrate this system of equations by partitioning the generalized coordinates and using Newton-Raphson iterations at each integration step is proposed. The stability of the method is analyzed. To improve the overall trajectory tracking performance, use of vibration suppression control at the end of motion is suggested. Experimental results with a spatial flexible link manipulator demonstrate a reasonable performance.