The analysis and design of nonlinear feedback systems has recently undergone an exceptionally rich period of progress and maturation, fueled, to a great extent, by (1) the discovery of certain basic conceptual notions, and (2) the identification of classes of systems for which systematic decomposition approaches can result in effective and easily computable control laws. These two aspects are complementary, since the latter approaches are, typically, based upon the inductive verification of the validity of the former system properties under compositions (in the terminology used in [62], the “activation” of theoretical concepts leads to “constructive” control). This expository presentation addresses the first of these aspects, and in particular the precise formulation of questions of robustness with respect to disturbances, formulated in the paradigm of input to state stability. We provide an intuitive and informal presentation of the main concepts. More precise statements, especially about older results, are given in the cited papers, as well as in several previous surveys such as [103] and [105] (of which the present paper represents an update), but we provide a little more detail about relatively recent work. Regarding applications and extensions of the basic framework, we give some pointers to the literature, but we do not focus on feedback design and specific engineering problems; for the latter we refer the reader to textbooks such as [43], [60], [58], [96], [66], [27], [44].

Input to State Stability: Basic Concepts and Results

Energy is one of the fundamental concepts in science and engineering practice, where it is common to view dynamical systems as energy-transformation devices. This perspective is particularly useful in studying complex nonlinear systems by decomposing them into simpler subsystems that, upon interconnection, add up their energies to determine the full system's behavior. The action of a controller may also be understood in energy terms as another dynamical system. The control problem can then be recast as finding a dynamical system and an interconnection pattern such that the overall energy function takes the desired form. This energy-shaping approach is the essence of passivity-based control (PBC), a controller design technique that is very well known in mechanical systems. Our objectives in the article are threefold. First, to call attention to the fact that PBC does not rely on some particular structural properties of mechanical systems, but hinges on the more fundamental (and universal) property of energy balancing. Second, to identify the physical obstacles that hamper the use of standard PBC in applications other than mechanical systems. In particular, we show that standard PBC is stymied by the presence of unbounded energy dissipation, hence it is applicable only to systems that are stabilizable with passive controllers. Third, to revisit a PBC theory that has been developed to overcome the dissipation obstacle as well as to make the incorporation of process prior knowledge more systematic. These two important features allow us to design energy-based controllers for a wide range of physical systems.

/pdf/putting-energy-back-in-control-1b6hr2kss0.pdf

Putting energy back in control

Dynamic analysis of flexible manipulators, a literature review

Feedback systems: Input-output properties

Closed-form equations of motion are presented for planar lightweight robot arms with multiple flexible links. The kinematic model is based on standard frame transformation matrices describing both rigid rotation and flexible displacement, under small deflection assumption. The Lagrangian approach is used to derive the dynamic model of the structure. Links are modeled as Euler-Bernoulli beams with proper clamped-mass boundary conditions. The assumed modes method is adopted in order to obtain a finite-dimensional model. Explicit equations of motion are detailed for two-link case assuming two modes of vibration for each link. The associated eigenvalue problem is discussed in relation with the problem of time-varying mass boundary conditions for the first link. The model is cast in a compact form that is linear with respect to a suitable set of constant parameters. Extensive simulation results that validate the theoretical derivation are included. >

Closed-form dynamic model of planar multilink lightweight robots

The exact eigenfunctions for the slewing link of a robot are found, taking into account a rotating inertia at the base and a payload at the tip. These derive from two equivalent formulations (pseudoclamped and pseudopinned) of the boundary value problem relative to the flexible slewing beam. The exactness of the solution makes it possible to prove the equivalence of these two approaches, which differ in the choice of the noninertial rotating frame. The two related dynamic linear models are then found, and a change of coordinates is given. Experimental measurements validate the theoretical results. >

Exact modeling of the flexible slewing link

The authors investigate the problem of how to achieve a cyclic joint behavior in redundant robots performing cyclic tasks, motivated by the fact that most singularity-free local resolution methods produce nonrepeatable joint motions. A controllability analysis of the inverse kinematic system makes it possible to recover the well-known repeatability conditions of T. Shamir and Y. Yomdin (1988), and to further conclude that no null space velocity can be specified if a repeatable scheme is sought, unless it is chosen as a linear term in the end-effector velocity. The problem of achieving asymptotic cyclicity for a given inversion strategy has been solved via suitable kinematic controls, which guarantee convergence to cyclic joint trajectories along the desired end-effector path. Depending on the structure of the feedforward and feedback terms in the control law, a number of different schemes are proposed, yielding exact or asymptotic end-effector tracking. The stability proofs and the satisfactory simulation results confirm the advantage of using these simple control strategies. >

Control of redundant robots on cyclic trajectories

https://www.diag.uniroma1.it/%7Elabrob/pub/papers/Automatica91_Spline.pdf

A sensitivity approach to optimal spline robot trajectories

In this article, we present an intrinsically stable Model Predictive Control (IS-MPC) framework for humanoid gait generation that incorporates a stability constraint in the formulation. The method uses as prediction model a dynamically extended Linear Inverted Pendulum with Zero Moment Point (ZMP) velocities as control inputs, producing in real time a gait (including footsteps with timing) that realizes omnidirectional motion commands coming from an external source. The stability constraint links future ZMP velocities to the current state so as to guarantee that the generated Center of Mass (CoM) trajectory is bounded with respect to the ZMP trajectory. Being the MPC control horizon finite, only part of the future ZMP velocities are decision variables; the remaining part, called tail , must be either conjectured or anticipated using preview information on the reference motion. Several options for the tail are discussed, each corresponding to a specific terminal constraint. A feasibility analysis of the generic MPC iteration is developed and used to obtain sufficient conditions for recursive feasibility. Finally, we prove that recursive feasibility guarantees stability of the CoM/ZMP dynamics. Simulation and experimental results on NAO and HRP-4 are presented to highlight the performance of IS-MPC.

MPC for Humanoid Gait Generation: Stability and Feasibility

A lightweight robot has been built with the aim of testing advanced control algorithms and demonstrating the engineering feasibility of flexible arm control. The robot is a planar two-link manipulator, with revolute joints and a very flexible forearm. A description of this laboratory facility is given, including mechanical structure, actuators and sensors, and interface electronics. A nonlinear dynamic model of the robot is given, in which link deflection is expressed in terms of orthonormal mode shapes of the associated eigenvalue problem. Simple control algorithms are presented, which are composed of a model-based feedforward term plus a linear feedback. These controllers have been implemented for joint trajectory tracking, and comparative experimental results are reported and discussed. >

Leonardo Lanari

Papers

Exact modeling of the flexible slewing link

Control of redundant robots on cyclic trajectories

A sensitivity approach to optimal spline robot trajectories

MPC for Humanoid Gait Generation: Stability and Feasibility

Control experiments on a two-link robot with a flexible forearm