On dynamic non-prehensile manipulation of multibody objects

In this paper, we construct a framework for studying dynamic non-prehensile manipulation systems during which multi-link manipulators can manipulate multibody objects. The multibody object is multilink, with some actuators in the joints, which complicates the manipulation process, because the control of the object conguration cannot be decoupled from the control problem of the whole process. The manipulation problem includes a series of similar manipulators manipulating a multibody object. Both the object and the individual manipulator can be fully actuated, under actuated, or passive. The object has two contact surfaces that are in alternate contact with the manipulator contact surface. Each manipulator carries the object during a contact phase and passes it to the next manipulator. The passing of the object from one manipulator to another is an instantaneous phase, namely the impact phase. Therefore, the whole process is a nonlinear process with impulse eects. After deriving a formulation for the general problem, we solve three representative examples to show the concept. In these examples, we study the manipulation of active and passive objects using active and passive manipulators. Dynamics, control, motion planning and orbital stability during the presence of impact are the most important challenges in this work.