Energy-based control of double pendulum cranes

In this paper, we present a new energy-based saturated control law for underactuated cranes with double pendulum payload dynamics. Specifically, we construct a new energy storage function to enhance the internal state coupling and then design a saturated output feedback controller. After that, rigorous theoretical analysis is provided to prove that the equilibrium point of the closed-loop system is asymptotically stable. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first control method that regulates an underactuated double pendulum crane using only output feedback and saturated control signals. Simulation results are included to examine the effectiveness and robustness of the presented control method.