Operator in-the-loop control of rotary cranes

An open-loop control method is presented for reducing the oscillatory motion of rotary crane payloads during operator commanded maneuvers. A typical rotary crane consists of a multiple degree-of-freedom platform for positioning a spherical pendulum with an attached payload. The crane operator positions the payload by issuing a combination of translational and rotational commands to the platform as well as load-line length changes. Frequently, these pendulum modes are time-varying and exhibit low natural frequencies. Maneuvers are therefore performed at rate sufficiently slow so as not to excite oscillation. The strategy presented here generates crane commands which suppress vibration of the payload without a priori knowledge of the desired maneuver. Results are presented for operator in-the-loop positioning using a real-time dynamics simulation of a three-axis rotary crane where the residual sway magnitude is reduced in excess of 40 dB.