Trajectory generation and tracking control of a multi-level hybrid support manipulator in FAST

Abstract The Feed Support System (FSS) of Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) is a multi-level redundant support manipulator, which consists of a cable driven parallel manipulator, an A–B rotation mechanism and a Gough–Stewart platform. In this article, we report our work on FAST in the following aspects: first, kinematic model and trajectory generation strategy of the FSS are established. Second, considering preventing the pseudo-drag problem of flexible cable and realizing the accurate pose control for the cable driven parallel manipulator, the hybrid position/force control is implemented and validated. Then, the prediction control is adopted in the Gough–Stewart platform to improve the terminal accuracy. Finally, with the 1:15 similarity model of FSS, experiments are carried out to prove the control accuracy of the cable driven parallel manipulator, showing that the terminal error is within 10 mm and the cable tension is kept in the given range. Further experiments on tracking control of the entire FSS illustrate terminal tracking accuracy of the astronomical observation is less than 2 mm, meeting the design requirement. Trajectory generation and tracking control given in this paper lay the foundation for the FAST prototype.