Position control of manipulator with passive joints using dynamic coupling

A method of controlling the position of a manipulator composed of active and passive joints is described. The active joints have actuators and position sensors. The passive joints have holding brakes instead of actuators. While the brakes are released, the passive joints are indirectly controlled by the motion of the active joints using the coupling characteristics of manipulator dynamics. While the brakes are engaged, the passive joints are fixed and the active joints are controlled. The position of the manipulator is controlled by combining these two control modes. The basic principle of the control method and the conditions that ensure the controllability of the passive joints are described. An algorithm for point-to-point control of the manipulator is presented. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated by simulations for a manipulator with two degrees of freedom