Real-Time Finite Difference Simulation of a Single-Link Flexible Manipulator System.

This paper presents an investigation into the real-time simulation of a flexible manipulator system. A single-link flexible manipulator incorporating hub inertia and payload mass which can bend freely in the horizontal plane and is stiff in vertical bending and torsion is considered. A fourth-order partial differential equation (PDE) model of the system obtained through the utilisation of Lagrange equation and modal expansion method is considered. A finite-dimensional simulation of the flexible manipulator system is developed using a finite difference discretisation of the dynamic equation of motion of the manipulator. The algorithm proposed allows the inclusion of motion of the manipulator. The algorithm proposed allows the inclusion of distributed actuator and sensor terms in the PDE and modification of boundary conditions. The real-time processing requirements of the algorithm are investigated by implementing the algorithm on several digital processing domains. Finally, simulation results verifying the performance of the algorithm in characterising the behaviour of the manipulator under various loading conditions are presented and discussed.