The stabilization controller design for a tripod type parallel manipulator used for active suspension of a delicate device

This paper focuses on the nonlinear modeling of a tripod type parallel manipulator and the stabilization controller design for base disturbance attenuation. The active tripod is designed to isolate a delicate device, carried by a host vehicle, from the disturbing vibrations coming from the chassis of this host vehicle. For that purpose, a controller is designed and the tripod is used for vibration attenuation as an active suspension system. A detailed simulation model including the nonlinear model of the tripod type parallel manipulator, the models of the stabilization controller, the linear actuators, i.e. the legs of the tripod, the inertial sensors, i.e. the inertial navigation system (INS) on the active platform, and the linear encoder integrated between the moving and stationary parts of the tripod are built and used in the study. This simulation model is used to evaluate the performance of the designed controller for the real-time data acquisition from an INS, which is mounted on the vehicle chassis, during a rough off-road cruise of the host vehicle. The data gathered from the vehicle is fed through the simulation model and the performance of the designed controller is examined and discussed under the real conditions of the desired application.