A sequential distributed variable structure controller for a tentacle arm

The paper presents a new controller for a tentacle arm based on the viscosity control of the ER-fluids by an electrical field. The dynamic model of the arm is determined and an approximate model is proposed. The motion control is determined as a conventional control of the fluid pressure and as a viscosity control on the switching manifolds. The stability of the motion is proved and the conditions of the trajectory control on the switching manifolds are determined. Two viscosity control procedures are used: a lumped control and a sequential distributed control which allows the decomposition of the system in a finite number of a lower dimension problems. The numerical simulations are presented.