State-feedback and Linear Quadratic regulator applied to a single-link flexible manipulator

This work presents a comparative study of two different control strategies for a flexible single-link robotic manipulator. The dynamic model of the flexible manipulator involves modeling the rotational base and the flexible link as rigid bodies using the Lagrange´s method. The resulting system has one degree-of-freedom (1 DOF). Two types of regulators are studied and discussed: the state-feedback controller, and the linear-quadratic regulator (LQR). While the latter is obtained by resolving the Riccati equation, the state-feedback consists on poles placement. A simulation is performed on MATLAB (7.5.0)/SIMULINK (V7.0)®, and later on, experiments were achieved on the flexible beam Quanser module. Experimental results are presented and compared at the end of this paper.