A simplified IDA-PBC design for underactuated mechanical systems with applications

We develop a method to simplify the partial differential equations (PDEs) associated to the potential energy for interconnection and damping assignment passivity based control (IDA-PBC) of a class of underactuated mechanical systems (UMSs). Solving the PDEs, also called the matching equations, is the main difficulty in the construction and application of the IDA-PBC. We propose a simplification to the potential energy PDEs through a particular parametrization of the closed-loop inertia matrix that appears as a coupling term with the inverse of the original inertia matrix. The parametrization accounts for kinetic energy shaping, which is then used to simplify the potential energy PDEs and their solution that is used for the potential energy shaping. This energy shaping procedure results in a closed-loop UMS with a modified energy function. This approach avoids the cancellation of nonlinearities, and extends the application of this method to a larger class of systems, including separable and non-separable port-controlled Hamiltonian (PCH) systems. Applications to the inertia wheel pendulum and the rotary inverted pendulum are presented, and some realistic simulations are presented which validate the proposed control design method and prove that global stabilization of these systems can be achieved. Experimental validation of the proposed method is demonstrated using a laboratory set-up of the rotary pendulum. The robustness of the closed-loop system with respect to external disturbances is also experimentally verifie

Discrete second order constrained Lagrangian systems: first results

We briefly review the notion of second order constrained (continuous) system (SOCS) and then propose a discrete time counterpart of it, which we naturally call discrete second order constrained system (DSOCS). To illustrate and test numerically our model, we construct certain integrators that simulate the evolution of two mechanical systems: a particle moving in the plane with prescribed signed curvature, and the inertia wheel pendulum with a Lyapunov constraint. In addition, we prove a local existence and uniqueness result for trajectories of DSOCSs. As a first comparison of the underlying geometric structures, we study the symplectic behavior of both SOCSs and DSOCSs.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Data-Driven Passivity-Based Control of Underactuated Robotic Systems

Classical control strategies for robotic systems are based on the idea that feedback control can be used to override the natural dynamics of the machines. Passivity-based control (Pbc) is a branch of nonlinear control theory that follows a similar approach, where the natural dynamics is modified based on the overall energy of the system. This method involves transforming a nonlinear control system, through a suitable control input, into another fictitious system that has desirable stability characteristics. The majority of Pbc techniques require the discovery of a reasonable storage function, which acts as a Lyapunov function candidate that can be used to certify stability. There are several challenges in the design of a suitable storage function, including: 1) what a reasonable choice for the function is for a given control system, and 2) the control synthesis requires a closed-form solution to a set of nonlinear partial differential equations. The latter is in general difficult to overcome, especially for systems with high degrees of freedom, limiting the applicability of Pbc techniques. A machine learning framework that automatically determines the storage function for underactuated robotic systems is introduced in this dissertation. This framework combines the expressive power of neural networks with the systematic methods of the Pbc paradigm, bridging the gap between controllers derived from learning algorithms and nonlinear control theory. A series of experiments demonstrates the efficacy and applicability of this framework for a family of underactuated robots

Contributions to ida-pbc with adaptive control for underactuated mechanical systems

This master thesis is devoted to developing an adaptive control scheme for the well- known Interconnection and Damping Assignment Passivity-Based Control (IDA-PBC) technique. The main objective of this adaptive scheme is to asymptotically stabilize a class of Underactuated Mechanical Systems (UMSs) in the presence of uncertainties (not necessarily matched). This class of UMSs is characterized by the solvability of the Partial Differential Equation (PDE) resulting from the IDA-PBC technique. Two propositions are stated in this work to design the adaptive IDA-PBC. One of the main properties of these propositions is that even though the parameter estimation conver- gence is not guaranteed, the adaptive IDA-PBC achieves asymptotic stabilization. To illustrate the effectiveness of these propositions, this work performs simulations of the Inertia Wheel Inverted Pendulum (IWIP) system, considering a time-dependent input disturbance, a type of physical damping, i.e., friction (not considered in the standard IDA-PBC methodology), and parameter uncertainties in the system (e.g., inertia).Tesi

The Lyapunov-Malkin Theorem and Stabilization of the Unicycle with Rider

This paper analyzes stabilization of a nonholonomic system consisting of a unicycle with rider. It is shown that one can achieve stability of slow steady vertical motions by imposing a feedback control force on the rider’s limb

Classical and intelligent methods in model extraction and stabilization of a dual-axis reaction wheel pendulum: A comparative study

Controlling underactuated open-loop unstable systems is challenging. In this study, first, both nonlinear and linear models of a dual-axis reaction wheel pendulum (DA-RWP) are extracted by employing Lagrangian equa-tions which are based on energy methods. Then to control the system and stabilize the pendulum's angle in the upright position, fuzzy logic based controllers for both x -y directions are developed. To show the efficiency of the designed intelligent controller, comparisons are made with its classical optimal control counterparts. In our simulations, as proof of the reliability and robustness of the fuzzy controller, two scenarios including noise -disturbance-free and noisy-disturbed situations are considered. The comparisons made between the classical and fuzzy-based controllers reveal the superiority of the proposed fuzzy logic controller, in terms of time response. The simulation results of our experiments in terms of both mathematical modeling and control can be deployed as a baseline for robotics and aerospace studies as developing walking humanoid robots and satellite attitude systems, respectively.The work of U.F.-G. was supported by the government of the Basque Country for the ELKARTEK21/10 KK-2021/00014 and ELKARTEK22/85 research programs, respectively

Nonlinear control of underactuated mechanical systems with application to robotics and aerospace vehicles

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 308-316).This thesis is devoted to nonlinear control, reduction, and classification of underactuated mechanical systems. Underactuated systems are mechanical control systems with fewer controls than the number of configuration variables. Control of underactuated systems is currently an active field of research due to their broad applications in Robotics, Aerospace Vehicles, and Marine Vehicles. The examples of underactuated systems include flexible-link robots, nobile robots, walking robots, robots on mobile platforms, cars, locomotive systems, snake-type and swimming robots, acrobatic robots, aircraft, spacecraft, helicopters, satellites, surface vessels, and underwater vehicles. Based on recent surveys, control of general underactuated systems is a major open problem. Almost all real-life mechanical systems possess kinetic symmetry properties, i.e. their kinetic energy does not depend on a subset of configuration variables called external variables. In this work, I exploit such symmetry properties as a means of reducing the complexity of control design for underactuated systems. As a result, reduction and nonlinear control of high-order underactuated systems with kinetic symmetry is the main focus of this thesis. By "reduction", we mean a procedure to reduce control design for the original underactuated system to control of a lowerorder nonlinear or mechanical system. One way to achieve such a reduction is by transforming an underactuated system to a cascade nonlinear system with structural properties. If all underactuated systems in a class can be transformed into a specific class of nonlinear systems, we refer to the transformed systems as the "normal form" of the corresponding class of underactuated systems. Our main contribution is to find explicit change of coordinates and control that transform several classes of underactuated systems, which appear in robotics and aerospace applications, into cascade nonlinear systems with structural properties that are convenient for control design purposes. The obtained cascade normal forms are three classes of nonlinear systems, namely, systems in strict feedback form, feedforward form, and nontriangular linear-quadratic form. The names of these three classes are due to the particular lower-triangular, upper-triangular, and nontriangular structure in which the state variables appear in the dynamics of the corresponding nonlinear systems. The triangular normal forms of underactuated systems can be controlled using existing backstepping and feedforwarding procedures. However, control of the nontriangular normal forms is a major open problem. We address this problem for important classes of nontriangular systems of interest by introducing a new stabilization method based on the solutions of fixed-point equations as stabilizing nonlinear state feedback laws. This controller is obtained via a simple recursive method that is convenient for implementation. For special classes of nontriangular nonlinear systems, such fixed-point equations can be solved explicitly ...by Reza Olfati-Saber.Ph.D