Flatness‐Based Trajectory Tracking Control of an Underconstrained Cable Suspension Manipulator

Abstract

Cable suspension manipulators support a payload platform in space by several spatially arranged cables with computercontrolled winches. The winches are mounted either fixed or on movable trolleys. Compared to conventional cranes, it is possible to control not only the translational motion of the payload but also its orientation in order to perform, for example, assembly tasks. By this, cable suspension manipulators combine the ability of cranes to support heavy payloads in a large workspace with the dexterity of robot manipulators. The present contribution treats nonlinear trajectory tracking control of cable suspension manipulators that are kinematically undetermined and statically determined. In particular, the cable suspension manipulator Cablev [4] is considered that has been developed at University of Rostock (Fig. 1). Its payload platform is supported by three cables with winches mounted on trolleys that move themselves on a gantry. Thus, the payload platform may perform sway motions with three degrees of freedom while the cable lengths are kept fixed. Applications are, for example, precise handling and assembling large and heavy components on construction sites or on shipyards. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)