Dynamics and simulation of compliant motion of a manipulator

A rigid body model for compliant motion of a manipulator is derived. The model is formulated in the joint coordinate frame, and then transformed into the constraint frame to reduce the dimensionality of the model. The proposed model is useful in the simulation of force-controlled manipulators. Examples considering the tasks of a `peg in a hole´ and `turning a crank´ are given. The basic structure of the model is represented in a general framework applicable to many other constrained mechanical systems. A control architecture is suggested, which according to the model leads to exact decoupling of force and position-controlled directions