A Constrained Two-Link Brachiating Robot for Power Line Inspection

This paper introduces a cascaded control approach for a fully actuated two-link brachiating powerline inspection robot. The robot operates under the constraints of internal and external factors such as friction and wind drag. The control system combines Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and Computed Torque Control (CTC) techniques to achieve precise control. The robot's mechanical design is created using SolidWorks, transformed into a Matlab Simulink environment. An optimal trajectory is generated through the use of MATLAB's optimization toolbox. The control architecture, leveraging the robot's actuation capabilities, effectively tracks trajectories while maintaining stability. It also compensates for internal constraints and mitigates external disturbances imposed on the Simulink model. The effectiveness of this control approach is demonstrated through simulations within the Simulink environment and visualization facilitated by SimScape multibody simulation. This study represents a significant advancement in the integration of mechanical CAD models and symbolic tools with SimScape, potentially contributing to the process of control system development by reducing the complexity of equation derivation and approximation techniques.