Periodic motions of the Pendubot via virtual holonomic constraints: Theory and experiments

This paper presents a new control strategy for an underactuated two-link robot, called the Pendubot. The goal is to create stable oscillations of the outer link of the Pendubot, which is not directly actuated. We exploit a recently proposed feedback control design strategy, based on motion planning via virtual holonomic constraints. This strategy is shown to be useful for design of regulators for achieving: stable oscillatory motions, a closed-loop-design-based swing-up, and propeller motions. The theoretical results are verified via successful experimental implementation.     

Virtual-Holonomic-Constraints-Based Design of Stable Oscillations of Furuta Pendulum: Theory and Experiments

The Furuta pendulum consists of an arm rotating in the horizontal plane and a pendulum attached to its end. Rotation of the arm is controlled by a DC motor, while the pendulum is moving freely in the plane, orthogonal to the arm. Motivated, in particular, by possible applications for walking/running/balancing robots, we consider the Furuta pendulum as a system for which synchronized periodic motions of all the generalized coordinates are to be created and stabilized. The goal is to achieve, via appropriate feedback control action, orbitally exponentially stable oscillations of the pendulum of various shapes around its upright and downward positions, accompanied with oscillations of the arm. Our approach is based on the idea of stabilization of a particular virtual holonomic constraint imposed on the configuration coordinates, which has been theoretically developed recently. Here, we elaborate on the complete design procedure. The results are illustrated not only through numerical simulations but also through successful experimental tests.     

Generating self-excited oscillations for underactuated mechanical systems via two-relay controller

A tool for the design of a periodic motion in an underactuated mechanical system via generating a self-excited oscillation of a desired amplitude and frequency by means of the variable structure control is proposed. First, an approximate approach based on the describing function method is given, which requires that the mechanical plant should be a linear low-pass filter–the hypothesis that usually holds when the oscillations are relatively fast. The method based on the locus of a perturbed relay systems provides an exact model of the oscillations when the plant is linear. Finally, the Poincaré map's design provides the value of the controller parameters ensuring the locally orbitally stable periodic motions for an arbitrary mechanical plant. The proposed approach is shown by the controller design and experiments on the Furuta pendulum.     

Boundary Control for a Flexible Inverted Pendulum System Based on a PDE Model with Input Saturation

This research considers the control problem of a flexible inverted pendulum system (FIPS) in the presence of input saturation. The model for a flexible inverted pendulum system (FIPS) is derived via the Hamilton principle. The FIPS model is divided into a fast subsystem and a slow subsystem via the singular perturbation method. We introduce an auxiliary system to deal with the input saturation of a fast subsystem. To stabilize the fast subsystem, a boundary anti‐windup control force is applied at the free end of the beam. It is proven that the closed‐loop subsystem is stable. For the slow subsystem, a sliding mode control method is employed to design a controller and a new decoupling method to design the sliding surface. Then it is shown that the slow subsystem is stable. Finally, simulation results are provided to confirm the efficacy of the proposed controller.     

A simple model matching for the stabilization of an inverted pendulum cart system

We present a simple model matching controller for the stabilization of the inverted pendulum cart system, assuming that the pendulum is initialized above the horizontal plane. The control strategy consists of forcing the closed‐loop system to behave as another nonlinear target system with some stability properties. To this end, we solve two matching conditions that allow us to shape a suitable target system. Having satisfied both matching conditions, the stabilizing controller is directly obtained from the proposed target system. The obtained close‐loop system is locally asymptotically exponentially stable, with a very large domain of attraction. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two relay controller for real time trajectory generation and its application to inverted orbital stabilization of inertia wheel pendulum via quasi‐continuous HOSM

A quasi‐continuous high‐order sliding mode (QC‐HOSM) control is developed to solve the tracking control problem for an inertia wheel pendulum. A first step towards the solution of the tracking control problem in underactuated systems is to find the set of reference trajectories. A reference model based on the two relay controller idea is then developed for generating a set of desired periodic trajectories for the pendulum centered at its upright position. The two relay controller produces oscillations at the scalar output of the reference underactuated system where the desired amplitude and frequency are reached by choosing its gains. The HOSM will be capable of making the pendulum move, tracking the prescribed reference signals determined by the trajectory generator. Performance issues of the controller constructed are illustrated in an experimental study. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Non-linear stable inversion-based output tracking control for a spherical inverted pendulum

We design an exact output tracking control law for a four degree of freedom spherical inverted pendulum based on the non-linear stable inversion tool proposed by Devasia et al. (1989). The pendulum is a slim cylindrical beam attached to a horizontal plane via a universal joint; the joint is free to move in the plane under the influence of a planar force. The upright position is an unstable equilibrium of the uncontrolled system because of gravity. The objective is to design a controller so that the pendulum can be steered to track some smooth desired translational trajectories while keeping the pendulum tightly around the upright position. The design proceeds in three steps: 1. identification of the internal dynamics; 2. feedforward control design for achievable trajectories; 3. feedback design to stabilize the achievable trajectories. The computer simulations show that the proposed controller can deliver excellent tracking performance.     

Tracking and load sway reduction for double‐pendulum rotary cranes using adaptive nonlinear control approach

Because of the existence of rotational boom motion, the load sway characteristics is more complex. In particular, when the sway presents double‐pendulum phenomenon, the design of the controller is more challenging. Furthermore, the uncertain parameters and external disturbances in crane system make it difficult for traditional control methods to obtain satisfactory control performance. Hence, this paper presents an adaptive nonlinear controller based on the dynamic model of double‐pendulum rotary crane. Unlike a traditional method, the proposed one does not need to linearize the crane system for controller design; therefore, the control performance can be guaranteed even if the system states are far away from the equilibrium point. By using Lyapunov technique and LaSalle's invariance theorem, it is strictly proved that the whole control system is asymptotically stable at the equilibrium point. The effectiveness of the presented controller is demonstrated via comparative simulations.     

Control strategies on stable manifolds for energy-efficient swing-ups of double pendula

Optimal control problems for mechanical systems often arise in technical applications. To find solutions with minimal control effort, the system’s natural, uncontrolled dynamics can be used. Promising candidates to be considered for energy-efficient trajectories are highly dynamic, but uncontrolled motions on (un)stable manifolds of equilibria. In this contribution, we propose a control strategy for mechanical systems which sequences uncontrolled trajectories on (un)stable manifolds with short control manoeuvres to design a feedforward control. In particular, we present optimal swing-up solutions for a double pendulum which are based on trajectories on the stable manifold of the pendulum’s up–up equilibrium. To demonstrate the advantages of our approach compared to a black-box optimisation, we perform a post-optimisation with the optimal control sequence as an initial guess. The numerical results are evaluated in a simulation environment for the double pendulum on a cart and applied to a real test rig.     

基于DHNN的移动域控制策略及应用

为避免基于Riccati方程求解移动域控制问题时复杂的矩阵求逆运算,提出一种基于离散Hopfield网络(DHNN)的移动域控制策略.对每个离散时刻,通过建立DHNN能量函数与移动域线性二次(LQ)性能指标间的等价关系,在线构建相应时刻的DHNN,理论设计能够保证该网络具有稳定性,而且由其稳态输出可获得移动域控制输入.应用于倒立摆平衡控制的仿真实验说明了论文提出的移动域控制策略的正确性及与滚动优化思想相结合实现无限域闭环最优控制的可行性.     

Swing-up control strategies for a reaction wheel pendulum

Control of a reaction wheel pendulum, a prototype of an under-actuated system, is easily done using switching control strategies, which combines swing-up control and balancing control schemes. In this article, two novel swing-up control strategies for a reaction wheel pendulum have been proposed. The first swing-up control strategy treats the oscillations of the pendulum as perturbations from the bottom equilibrium point. The second swing-up control is based on interconnection and damping assignment-passivity based control (IDA-PBC). IDA-PBC preserves Euler Lagrangian structure of the system and gives more physical insight about any mechanical system. Any balancing controller can be coupled with the proposed swing-up control strategies to stabilise the pendulum at the top unstable equilibrium position. The control task of balancing the pendulum in top upright position is completed by switching from swing-up scheme to the balancing scheme at the point where the pendulum is very near to the top equilibrium point. Proposed swing-up control strategies have been implemented in real time in switching mode. The two proposed swing-up control schemes provide fast responses as compared to existing energy based schemes.     

Generating oscillations in inertia wheel pendulum via two‐relay controller

The problem of generating oscillations of the inertia wheel pendulum is considered. We combine exact feedback linearization with two‐relay controller, tuned using frequency‐domain tools, such as computing the locus of a perturbed relay system. Explicit expressions for the parameters of the controller in terms of the desired frequency and amplitude are derived. Sufficient conditions for orbital asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system are obtained with the help of the Poincaré map. Performance is validated via experiments. The approach can be easily applied for a minimum phase system, provided the behavior of the states of the zero dynamics is of no concern. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Continuous sliding‐mode control for singular systems

Singular systems with matched Lipschitz perturbations and uncertainties are considered in this paper. Since continuous solutions of an impulse‐free singular system require continuous input signals, a two‐step continuous sliding‐mode control strategy to compensate matched Lipschitz perturbations and uncertainties in singular systems is proposed. Our suggested methodology is tested in a singular representation of a DC motor pendulum of relative degree two. The performance of the proposed strategy is assessed by comparing the accuracy, in both cases, with and without considering small noise in the output, obtained through other continuous sliding‐mode control, and reconstruction/compensation of perturbations and uncertainties techniques.     

Energy shaping control of an inverted flexible pendulum fixed to a cart

Control of compliant mechanical systems is increasingly being researched for several applications including flexible link robots and ultra-precision positioning systems. The control problem in these systems is challenging, especially with gravity coupling and large deformations, because of inherent underactuation and the combination of lumped and distributed parameters of a nonlinear system. In this paper we consider an ultra-flexible inverted pendulum on a cart and propose a new nonlinear energy shaping controller to keep the pendulum at the upward position with the cart stopped at a desired location. The design is based on a model, obtained via the constrained Lagrange formulation, which previously has been validated experimentally. The controller design consists of a partial feedback linearization step followed by a standard PID controller acting on two passive outputs. Boundedness of all signals and (local) asymptotic stability of the desired equilibrium is theoretically established. Simulations and experimental evidence assess the performance of the proposed controller.     

Non-local stabilization of a spherical inverted pendulum

We design a non-linear stabilizing control law for a four degree of freedom spherical inverted pendulum. The pendulum is a slim cylindrical beam attached to a horizontal plane via a universal joint; the joint is free to move in the plane under the influence of a planar force. The upright position is an unstable equilibrium of the uncontrolled system because of gravity. The objective is to design a controller so that it stabilizes the upright position starting from any position in the upper hemisphere with arbitrary velocity. We achieve this by first transforming the original system to an appropriate upper triangular form and then designing a controller which incorporates a high gain design with the method of non-linear forwarding. The control law is evaluated through computer simulations.     

Modification via averaging of partial-energy-shaping control for creating oscillations: cart-pendulum example

We consider the challenging problem of creating oscillations in underactuated mechanical systems. Target oscillatory motions of the indirectly actuated degree of freedom of a mechanical system can often be achieved via a straightforward to design feedback transformation. Moreover, the corresponding part of the dynamics can be forced to match a desired second-order system possessing the target periodic solution (Aracil, J., Gordillo, F., and Acosta, J.A. (2002), ‘Stabilization of Oscillations in the Inverted Pendulum’, in Proceedings of the 15th IFAC World Congress, Barcelona, Spain; Canudas-de-Wit, C., Espiau, B., and Urrea, C. (2002), ‘Orbital Stabilisation of Underactuated Mechanical Systems’, in Proceedings of the 15th IFAC World Congress, Barcelona, Spain). Sometimes, it is possible to establish the presence of periodic or bounded motions for the remaining degrees of freedom in the transformed system. However, typically this motion planning procedure leads to an open-loop unstable orbit and by necessity should be followed by a feedback control design. We propose a new approach for synthesis of a (practically) stabilising feedback controller, which ensures convergence of the solutions of the closed-loop system into a narrow tube around the preplanned orbit. The method is illustrated in detail by shaping oscillations in the inverted pendulum on a cart around its upright equilibrium. The complete analysis is based on application of a non-standard higher-order averaging technique assuming sufficiently high frequency of oscillations and is presented for this particular example.     

An effective trajectory generation method for bipedal walking

This paper presents the virtual height inverted pendulum mode (VHIPM), which is a simple and effective trajectory generation method for the stable walking of biped robots. VHIPM, which is based on the inverted pendulum mode (IPM), can significantly reduce the zero moment point (ZMP) error by adjusting the height in the inverted pendulum. We show the relationship between VHIPM and other popular trajectory generation methods, and compare the ZMP errors in walking when trajectories are generated by various methods including VHIPM. We also investigate the sensitivity of the ZMP error in VHIPM to the step length, walking period and mass distribution of a robot. The simulation results show that VHIPM significantly reduces the ZMP errors compared to other methods under various circumstances.     

Robust control method for the inverted pendulum system with structured uncertainty caused by measurement error

In this article, we propose a design method for an inverted pendulum system with a structured uncertainty. We consider that such an uncertainty is caused by a measurement error in the rotation angle of the pendulum and effects on the system structure that cannot be included in the nominal elements. For the uncertain system obtained, we apply an integral tracking control and the guaranteed cost control to design a robust, stable, tracking control system. Finally, we show the effectiveness of our method through a numerical example.     

High‐order sliding‐mode observer–based input‐output linearization

The problem of output control in multiple‐input–multiple‐output nonlinear systems is addressed. A high‐order sliding‐mode observer is used to estimate the states of the system and identify the discrepancy between the nominal model and the real plant. The exact and finite‐time estimation may be tackled as long as the system presents the algebraic strong observability property. Thus, a continuous robust input‐output linearization strategy can be obtained with respect to a prescribed output. As a consequence, the closed‐loop dynamics performs robustly to uncertainties/perturbations. To illustrate the advantages of the proposed method, we introduce a study case that demands a robust linear system behavior: the self‐oscillations induced in an underactuated mechanical system through a two‐relay controller. Experiments with an inertial wheel pendulum illustrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.     

基于滑模变结构的倒立摆系统稳定控制

利用滑模变结构控制对一级倒立摆系统进行了有效控制.首先对一级倒立摆系统的模型进行线性化处理,再利用滑模变结构控制方法对此模型中摆的镇定、台车位置的调节和系统参数不确定性设计了具体的控制规律,并使用饱和函数的方法抑制系统的抖振.最后在Matlab/Simulink上进行了仿真实验,实验结果说明滑模变结构控制方法是有效的.