Fault tolerance in cooperative manipulators

The problem of fault tolerance in cooperative manipulators rigidly connected to a solid object is addressed in this paper. Four faults are considered: free-swinging joint faults, locked joint faults, incorrect measured joint position, and incorrect measured joint velocity. The faults are first detected by a, fault detection and isolation system. Free-swinging and locked joint faults are isolated using artificial neural networks. The other faults are isolated based on the kinematic constraints imposed on the cooperative system. After the isolation of the faults, the control system is reconfigured. Control laws for the system with passive or locked joints are developed. Results of the fault tolerance system applied in simulations and in a real cooperative system are presented.