A prototype flexible robot arm-an interdisciplinary undergraduate project

An interdisciplinary undergraduate project to set up a prototype flexible robot link is discussed. The project consists of modeling, fabrication, and control of the flexible link. The combination of already well-known Lagrange and finite-element methods seems to be a great advantage in this modeling procedure. Lightwave flexible links, although known to save a large amount of operational energy, are not popular in the industry because of difficulty in their modeling and control. Following the methodology suggested, modeling is reduced to a mechanical procedure capable of efficient computer implementation. A simple controller is suggested. The controller is designed using the MATLAB simulation package, and the results are compared graphically. The lessons learned form the project are reported