On the Use of Deflection Sensors to Estimate the Dynamic of a Flexible Beam

This article is a theoretical and experimental study of the dynamics of a flexible beam coupled to harmonic drive actuator. As a main result we present a technique that allows, from the data provided by some deflection sensors installed on the beam, to estimate the position, the deflection and also other quantities related to the dynamics of the system at any other point of the beam. Experimental tests were performed and demonstrate the excellent performance of this technique.