Trajectory Tracking Control for a new Generation of Fire Rescue Turntable Ladders

A trajectory tracking control was developed for a new generation of fire turntable ladders with an additional joint in the upper ladder part in order to reduce swaying of the moving cage because of the limited stiffness of the ladder set. Therefore, the arm elasticity, which is characterized by significant flexion and torsion, plays an important role in the design process, especially in the case of large ladder lengths. A decentralized control strategy based on a dynamic model of the ladder has been developed. The implementation of this control strategy leads to an active oscillation damping for all ladder movements and therefore allows higher velocities for the rescue operations