A V-shaped Lyapunov function approach to model-based control of flexible-joint robots

This paper proposes a V-shaped Lyapunov function approach for the model-based control of flexible-joint robots, in which a new model-based nonlinear control scheme is designed based on a V.-shaped Lyapunov function. The proposed control guarantees global asymptotic stability for link trajectory control while keeping all internal signals bounded. Since joint flexibility is used as a control parameter, the proposed control is not restricted by the degree of joint flexibility and can be applied to flexible-joint, partly-flexible-joint, or rigid-joint robots without modification. The effectiveness of the proposed control has been shown by computer simulation.