An application of on-line identification methods for control

The application of online identification schemes to flexible manipulators is considered. The common objective of all methods, for control purposes, is a time-domain parametrization of the system transfer function. Time-domain methods generally require more computational load, are more sensitive to noise than frequency-domain methods, and suffer from over (under) parametrization of the transfer function. Frequency-domain methods parametrize the lightly damped transfer function in terms of its easily recognizable poles and zeros, and offer alternatives to time-domain methods. Several solutions to overcome these problems are discussed and demonstrated through experimental studies on a single-link flexible manipulator.