Nonlinear Controllers for a Planar Robot Arm
by
Bibhya N. Sharma
University of the South Pacific
Coauthors: Jito Vanualailai (University of the South Pacific)

The second or direct method of Liapunov is used to solve a two-dimensional findpath problem, which is basically the geometric problem of finding a collision-free path for a moving solid object among other moving and fixed solid objects. The trajectory generated is the shortest, smoothest and safest of all possible paths. In this paper we propose a Liapunov function for free motion, and with vital modifications for desired trajectories of a 2-link planar robot from initial to target positions. Computer simulations are carried out to show the effectiveness of the proposed Liapunov function-based feedback controllers.

Date received: August 28, 2000