Enclosing control based on brake operation and its application to pneumatic systems

The passive dynamic control (“PDC”) is a mechanical system control method based on an inherently safe design positively using the braking force. This paper proposes enclosing control in which deviation from a target trajectory is controlled by a brake mechanism. First, the principle of the enclosing control is described. Second, an experimental setup using two PDC pneumatic cylinders equipped with an electromagnetic friction brake and a load cell is described. Third, the effectiveness of the enclosing control is verified in an experiment of follow-up control for a circular trajectory and comparison with PI control. Last, the enclosing control is applied to follow-up control for an arbitrary trajectory.