Power aspects of inverse dynamics control systems

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Werner Schiehlen

   Zeit: Dienstag, 29. 05. 2001, 16:00
   Ort: Hörsaal V 9.31 Pfaffenwaldring 9, Universitätsbereich Stuttgart-Vaihingen

Abstract:

Flexible manufacturing systems are characterized by machines and mechanisms with some or all mechanical degrees of freedom actively controlled resulting in the necessary prescribed motion of the production process or rheonomic constraints, respectively. Due to the high nonlinearity of large displacement motions inverse dynamics is a standard control concept well established in manufacturing, robotics and walking machines. It is shown that inverse dynamics results in high energy consumption and requires large power supply. For autonomous robots and walking machines the power supply adds to the weight, and additional weight needs more power again. Finally, actively controlled walking machines are very heavy devices not comparable to the lightweight design of passive walking mechanisms. It is proposed to use local energy storage by springs to overcome the drawback of inverse dynamics. The design principles for reduced energy consumption are outlined with simple mechanical models and will include nonlinear characteristics of the springs to improve further the local energy storage capacity.

Biographical Sketch:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.h.c. Werner Schiehlen was educated as a mechanical engineer at the University of Stuttgart, Germany where he received his Ph.D. in 1966, too. Then, he served as Chief Engineer and Associate Professor with the Technical University Munich, Germany. Since 1977 he is Full Professor of Mechanics with the University of Stuttgart, Professor Schiehlen held the positions of Dean and Vice-President of Research. In 1991 he was honoured at the Technical University of Eindhoven, The Netherlands by a doctor honoris causa and in 1995 he was awarded a Visiting Miller Research Professorship at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. From 1996 to 2000 he was serving as President of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM). Further, in 2000 he was invited as Charles E. Schmidt Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Center of Applied Stochastic Research, College of Engineering, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA. Professor Schiehlen has a broad professional experience with industry, research and international scientific organizations. He wrote more than 200 scientific papers and 5 books on applied dynamics, control theory and vibrations, simulation of multibody systems, mechatronics and vehicle engineering.