Fuzzy position/vibration control of a 3-DOF rigid robot with a flexible tool

In some tasks, a rigid robot manipulator handles a long, slender, and flexible tool, which usually has not been equipped with vibration measuring devices. This situation makes a difficult tool tip position control problem. In this paper, a new method will be presented for simultaneous tip position and vibration suppression control of a flexible tool on a rigid-link 3-DOF robot. This approach uses fuzzy logic rule-based controllers without using any sensor and actuator on the tool and with no a priori knowledge about the tool. Numerical simulation of robot and tool set has been accomplished and results support the fact that designed fuzzy controllers perform remarkably well in reducing vibrations and precision guidance of robot tool tip for tracking various trajectories.