A MATLAB/SIMULINK BASED ENVIRONMENT FOR INTELLIGENT MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF FLEXIBLE MANIPULATOR SYSTEMS

摘要

Flexible manipulator systems are receiving increasing attention due to their advantages over conventional robot manipulators. The advantages include faster response, lower energy consumption, relatively smaller actuators, higher payload to weight ratio and, in general, less overall cost. Some of the current applications of such manipulators include spacecraft, remote manipulation and radioactive material handling in nuclear power plants. Due to their flexible nature, induced vibrations appear in the system during and after a positioning motion. This restricts their wide spread use in industry. A considerable amount of research work has already been carried out on the vibration control of flexible manipulators. However, a generic solution to the problem is yet to be obtained.