Model-free controller design for a single-link flexible smart materials robot

In this paper, controller design is investigated for a single-link flexible smart materials robot which combines the advantages of both flexible link robots and piezoelectric materials. To avoid the drawbacks resulting from model uncertainties and/or model truncations, model-free controllers (both decentralized and centralized) are proposed for tip regulation and residual vibration suppression. In contrast to traditional model-based methods, the controllers presented in the paper are derived from the basic energy-work relationship and can guarantee the asymptotic stability of the damped truncated system with arbitrarily any finite number of flexible modes. Furthermore, the controllers are easily implementable because all the signals can be chosen to be readily measurable. Simulations are carried out to show the effectiveness of the approach presented.