Use of Diagonalized Equations of Motion and a Stable Control Strategy for a Manipulator with a First Passive Link

To gain insight into the dynamics of a three-degrees-of-freedom (3 DOF) manipulator system with a passive first and two active joints operating in conjunction with a stabilizing controller, an analysis based on a set of indicators was proposed. Manipulator control strategies are verified for their effectiveness or performance improvement compared to previously published control schemes, often based on a single selected model. Insight into the dynamics of the manipulator–controller system is usually omitted. However, this issue is addressed in publications, which almost always concern mechanical systems with full knowledge of the control signals. The contribution of this work is, first, verification of whether the selected strategy is also effective for other manipulator models and for different controller operating conditions, thus ensuring a broader range of applicability. Second, a set of indicators was used to analyze the motion of the manipulator–controller system. The proposed approach was verified using simulation studies conducted for two manipulator models.