A recursive, numerically stable, and efficient simulation algorithm for serial robots with flexible links (Q1023988)

The authors propose a dynamic modelling approach for serial-chain robots with flexible links, based on the equivalence of Euler-Lagrange and Newton-Euler equations of motion, and on the decoupled natural orthogonal matrices. The approach leads to a recursive forward dynamic algorithm. This analytical simulation method was first developed for rigid body manipulators by \textit{J. Angeles} and \textit{S. K. Lee} [J. Appl. Mech. 55, No.~1, 243--244 (1988; Zbl 0672.70017)]. The simulation is a two-step process: (1) the computation of accelerations in generalized coordinates from the equations of motion for the system with given actuator forces and torques (i.e. the forward dynamics); and (2) the numerical integration of the accelerations computed in step (1) to obtain the corresponding velocities and positions. Numerical simulations are presented for a flexible two-link arm and for a spatial Canadarm with two flexible links (the Space Shuttle Remote Manipulator System SSRMS), illustrating the proposed approach. It is shown that for flexible link robots this approach is computationally more efficient and numerically more stable than other algorithms published earlier.