Simultaneous stabilization and decoupling of constrained robotic systems with minimal inputs

Simultaneous stabilization and disturbance decoupling of constrained robotic systems with minimal inputs are addressed. The robotic system must be decoupled into disjoint manifolds of motion and constraint, and the small motion of the system in the respective tangential hyperplanes must be stable. The problem arises in rolling and gliding types of probing manipulation. Necessary conditions for block decoupling with minimum inputs require that the image of the input matrix have a nonnull component along the null space of a matrix function of the constraint equations. Necessary conditions for simultaneous stabilization and decoupling with minimal inputs are established. An example of a planar four-link biped robot and a method to avoid constraint surface penetration are presented.<>