On tracking control of flexible robot arms

A controller for solving the tracking problem of flexible robot arms is presented. In order to achieve this goal, the desired trajectory for the link (flexible) coordinates is computed from the dynamic model of the robot arm and is guaranteed to be bounded, and the desired trajectory for the joint (rigid) coordinates can be assigned arbitrarily. The case of no internal damping is also considered, and a robust control technique is used to enhance the damping of the system.