Dynamics and Control of 2D SpiderCrane: A Lie-Bäcklund Approach

In this paper we present modeling and control of a multicable suspended mechanism called the ‘2D SpiderCrane’. The use of cables, and thus avoiding conventional heavy components, makes such a mechanism suitable for working at high transfer speeds. The initial part of the paper addresses the modeling of the mechanism, where the cable and pulley dynamics are separated, and the payload is viewed as a pendulum suspended from a cable whose suspension point lies on a mass that moves in a two-dimensional space. Using the notion of Lie-Bäcklund transformation, the model is transformed to a new set of coordinates in which the system looks linear. A trajectory tracking controller is then proposed.