Manual motion control realizing invariant maneuverability for a connected mechanical system permitting configuration variation

Manual motion control (MMC) problems are seen in the conveyance of a large amount of products in factories or stores. One of the most successful examples of MMC is power assist. For example, the power assist system has been introduced to reduce workers´ loads in industrial production. In near future, in order to improve its efficiency, the power assist system should be connected and cooperate with other systems. This paper discusses a cooperative control system design based on the principle of the power assist for plural power assist carts connected by mechanical connectors. Concretely, an operator can input his/her operational intention to a cart via the power assist function, and other carts follow the operated cart by LQI servo control. The effectiveness of the proposed control system is verified by simulations in cases of two and three carts.