An experiment for position and sway control of a 3D gantry crane

This paper presents experimental investigations into the development of a real-time hybrid control scheme for sway and position control of a three dimensional (3D) gantry crane system. System responses including positions of the trolley, rail and payload and payload sway are examined. Initially, a PD controller is developed for position control of the trolley and rail, and control of hoisting of payload of the system. Then, a feedforward controller based on input shaping is designed for reduction of payload sway. The performances of the controllers are assessed in terms of the input tracking capability and sway reduction as compared to the response with PD control. The performance of the controller during payload hoisting is also investigated.