Backstepping control and active vibration control for a free-flying space robot with rigid-flexible links by singular perturbation approach

In this paper, the dynamics and tracking control for a free-flying space robot with rigid-flexible links are developed. To provide an accurate representation of the flexible space robot´s behavior, the dynamics of the system are described by means of assumed mode approach and Lagrangian method. Based on singular perturbation approach, a composite control scheme of backstepping control and active vibration control is derived to track the desired trajectory. With the proposed control scheme, the closed-loop stability of the flexible space robot can be achieved. Numerical simulations are carried out and satisfactory results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control.