Regulation of the PPR mobile robot with a flexible joint: a combined passivity and flatness approach

A passivity based controller is proposed for the regulation of the prismatic-prismatic-revolute (PPR) mobile robot equipped with an underactuated arm coupled to the main robot body by means of a flexible joint. The system, which happens to be differentially flat, can then be controlled using a combination of the passivity based approach and trajectory planning facilitated by the flatness property of the system.