Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 March 2009
For a manipulator which works in a given fixed environment, like in manufacturing plants for instance, the control system may be designed in a fixed definite way. But when the characteristics of this environment is subject to variations, e.g. change in the mass of the object to be moved, it is necessary to endow the manipulator with some versatility which allows it to adapt itself to the new working conditions. The purpose of the paper is to show that the use of links with varying inertia is a possible way to achieve this flexibility.