Tip tracking control of a single-link flexible robot: A backstepping approach (Q1368028)

The purpose of this important paper, tip tracking control, is investigated for a single-link flexible robot. The flexible beam is first lumped to a spring-mass system to which the so-called backstepping approach is applicable; then, two robust controllers and an adaptive controller are developed in the presence of system disturbances/uncertainties. The main result is the following: The controllers are rigorously proven to be able to achieve stable tip position and velocity tracking control in the sense of global uniform ultimate boundedness. Finally, the authors present numerical simulation results which show that the proposed controllers are effective.