Stochastic Vibration of a Mobile Manipulator

Abstract

The stochastic vibration of a flexible, articulated, and mobile manipulator is studied. The manipulator is mounted on a vehicle which is supported by a suspension system. Stochastic excitation of the manipulator is induced by the uniform horizontal motion of the vehicle on a traction surface. The power spectral density representation and the state-space representation are used to derive expressions for the covariance matrices of the manipulator tip motions. Sensitivity of the variance of the tip motion to the manipulator configuration, length, vehicle velocity, surface roughness coefficient, and structural damping and stiffness are explored. Suggestions for mobile manipulator design to minimize the influence of the stochastic base vibration on the manipulator tip motion are proposed.