Model-free regulation of multi-link smart materials robots

In this paper, model-free controllers are presented for multi-link smart materials robots. The controllers are derived from the basic energy-work relationship in the absence of the system model which is complex and difficult to obtain for multi-link smart materials robots. The smart materials bonded along the links are used to apply additional control to suppress the residue vibration effectively. One can achieve not only the closed-loop stability of the original system, but also the asymptotic stability of the truncated system, which is obtained through representing the deflection of each link by an arbitrary finite number of flexible modes. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the presented approach.