Quasi-static trajectory tracking control of flexible manipulator by macro-micro manipulator system

A macro-micro manipulator system is proposed to realize trajectory tracking control of a flexible manipulator system. This system has a flexible manipulator as a macro-manipulator and a rigid small manipulator on the tip as a micro-manipulator. While a flexible manipulator can move in wide range of space, it cannot realize precise tracking. The micro manipulator is used to compensate the tracking error due to the deformation of the macro-manipulator. The concepts of compensability and compensability measure for the macro-micro manipulator system are introduced. Considering the redundancy of the system, path planning is discussed in order to keep the compensability measure as large as possible during the whole work phase. A quasi-static trajectory tracking control system is proposed to realize the planned path. Simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method