Mid-ranging control of a macro/mini manipulator

Mid-ranging control is an established control approach developed for systems with more than one manipulated inputs controlling a single target output. In this paper, the application of a mid-ranging control approach, Valve Position Control (VPC), in the control of a macro/mini manipulator is presented. The results from simulation studies show that the macro/mini combination, under VPC, was able to achieve accurate and fast position tracking while having the advantage of the larger workspace of the macro. An Enhanced VPC approach is proposed which can effectively decouple the output of the macro/mini manipulator from changes to the setpoint input to the mini.