Mobile manipulation of flexible objects under deformation constraints

We develop a velocity field tracking-control scheme with proportional integral force feedback to transport and manipulate deformable material with a mobile manipulator. We assume that the deformable object is a damped underactuated mechanical system. The input-to-state stability properties of its zero dynamics are used to derive bounds on the admissible end-effector velocities and accelerations. It is shown both analytically and in simulation that using deformation feedback, we can avoid exciting excessive object deformations.