State Space Characterization of Complex Rigid Body Systems Subject to Control

Abstract

The dynamic equations of systems of rigid bodies are developed as nonlinear, muti-variable control systems in state-space representations. This provides a unified treatment in terms of the general problem and indicates specific characteristics of coupled-body system equations which may be later exploited. A purpose of this paper is to provide a formulation for treating the optimal dynamic synthesis problems of general rigid and nonrigid body systems.