Swarm Optimization of an Active Vibration Controller for Flexible Manipulator

This paper presents the development of an optimal PID controller for vibration control of flexible manipulator structures using particle swarm optimization (PSO) for tuning the PID parameters. The flexible manipulator system is first modeled using finite difference (FD) approach and identification using global search of PSO. The control structure comprises conventional PID controller and an intelligent PID incorporated PSO controller for position and vibration control. Behavior of system response including hub angle and end-point displacement are recorded and assessed. The validation of the algorithm is presented in time and frequency domains. It was noted that proposed controller is effective to move the flexible link to the desired position with suppression of vibration at end-point of a flexible manipulator structure. Key-Words: finite difference algorithm, identification, PID control; particle swarm optimization; single-link flexible manipulator