Precision control under the effect of friction requires an effective compensation of friction. Since friction has a complex and highly nonlinear behaviour, it is generally insufficient to represent the friction in a dynamic control system only with a linear viscous model, which is mostly valid in high-velocity motions. Especially when the control system moves near zero velocity regions or changes the direction of motion, an accurate modelling of friction including the lowvelocity dynamic behaviour is a prerequisite to obtain a more complete and realistic dynamic model of the system. Furthermore, the parameters of the friction model should be identified as accurate as possible in order to attain a satisfactory performance. Therefore, the parameters of the friction should be estimated regarding the working conditions. The estimated friction force can then be used to improve the controlled performance of the dynamic system under consideration. In this thesis, the modelling, identification and compensation of friction in a rotary mechanical system are studied. The effectiveness of the existing friction models in the literature are investigated / namely the classical Coulomb with viscous friction model, the Stribeck friction model, the LuGre friction model, and the Generalized Maxwell-Slip (GMS) friction model. All friction models are applied to the system together with the same linear, proportional with derivative (PD)-type and proportional with integral and derivative (PID)-type feedback control actions for the sake of being faithful in comparison. The accuracy of the friction compensation methods is examined separately for both the low-velocity and high-velocity motions of the system. The precision of friction estimation is also shown in the case of using both the desired velocity and measured velocity as an input to the friction models. These control studies are verified in simulation environment and the corresponding results are given. Furthermore, an experimental set-up is designed and manufactured as a case study. The parameters of the aforementioned friction models are identified and the control laws with different friction models are applied to the system in order to demonstrate the compensation capabilities of the models. The results of the experiments are evaluated by comparing them among each other and with the simulation results.

This work focuses on modeling, parameter estimation, and real-time position control of a two axis Gimbaled Mirror System (GMS) which is designed and manufactured to move an IR spot generated by an Infra Red Scene Generator System (IRSGS) in two orthogonal axes (elevation and azimuth) within the IR scene which is also generated by the IRSGS. Mathematical models of the GMS, the control system, and the disturbance torque originated from the movements of Flight Motion Simulator (FMS), on which the IRSGS will be mounted, are constructed using MATLAB&reg / /Simulink&reg / and MATLAB/Simulink/SimMechanics&reg / . Parameter estimations of the GMS and control system elements are achieved using MATLAB/Simulink Parameter Estimation Tool&reg / . The controller tuning is performed using the developed mathematical models in MATLAB/Simulink environment. Optimized digital PID controllers are implemented in the real-time control system. Performances of the controllers for both GMS axes are evaluated by both real system tests and simulation runs / and the results of these runs are compared. Controller performances under the effect of disturbances are analyzed by using the mathematical models developed in the MATLAB/ Simulink environment.

This thesis aims to propose multiple methods for performing a hardware-in-the-loop simulation, providing the hardware and software tools necessary for design and execution. For this purpose, methods of modeling commonly encountered dynamical system components are explored and techniques suitable for calculating the states of the modeled system are presented. Modules and subsystems that enable the realization of a hardware-in-the-loop simulation application and its interfacing with external controller hardware are explained. The thesis also presents three different simulation scenarios. Solutions suitable for these scenarios are provided along with their implementations. The details and specifications of the developed software packages and hardware platforms are given. The provided results illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches used in these solutions.

In this study, universal motion command generator systems utilizing a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and an interface board for Robotics and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) applications have been developed. These command generation systems can be classified into two main groups as polynomial approximation and data compression based methods. In the former type of command generation methods, the command trajectory is firstly divided into segments according to the inflection points. Then, the segments are approximated using various polynomial techniques. The sequence originating from modeling error can be further included to the generated series. In the second type, higher-order differences of a given trajectory (i.e. position) are computed and the resulting data are compressed via lossless data compression techniques. Besides conventional approaches, a novel compression algorithm is also introduced in the study. This group of methods is capable of generating trajectory data at variable rates in forward and reverse directions. The generation of the commands is carried out according to the feed-rate (i.e. the speed along the trajectory) set by the external logic dynamically. These command generation techniques are implemented in MATLAB and then the best ones from each group are realized using FPGAs and their performances are assessed according to the resources used in the FPGA chip, the speed of command generation, and the memory size in Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) chip located on the development board.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the interest for snake like modular robots due to their superior locomotion capabilities in terms of versatility, adaptability and scalability. Passive wheeled planar snake like robots are a major category and they are being actively researched. Due to the nonholonomic constraints imposed on them, certain configurations lead to the singularity which must be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, it is vital to generate a locomotion pattern such that they can track a wide range of trajectories. All of these objectives must be accomplished smoothly and in an energy efficient manner. Studies indicate that meeting all of these requirements is a challenging problem. In this study, a novel form of the serpenoid curve is proposed in order to make the robot track arbitrary paths. A controller has been designed using the feedback linearization method. Afterwards, a new performance measure, considering both the efficiency and sustainability of the locomotion, has been proposed to evaluate the locomotion. Optimal parameters for the proposed serpenoid curve and the linear controller have been determined for efficient locomotion by running series of simulations. Relations between the locomotion performance, locomotion speed and eigenvalues of the linear controller have been demonstrated. Simulation results show striking differences between the locomotion by using the proposed serpenoid curve with optimal parameters and the locomotion by purely tracking a given path. Obtained results also indicate that the aforementioned requirements are met successfully and confirm the validity and consistency of the proposed performance measure.

In this thesis, a sliding mode controller employing a new sliding surface for antilock brake system (ABS) is proposed, its stability is proven formally and its performance is compared with existing sliding mode controllers. The new sliding mode controller uses the integral-derivative surface, which includes error, its derivative and its integral, all at the same time. This and the already existing derivative surface, which includes error and its derivative only, are named zerothorder sliding surfaces. Their stability analysis is done using first-order auxiliary surfaces. Auxiliary surfaces equal the sliding surfaces when derivative of the error becomes zero. The first-order error surface, which includes only the error, and the integral surface, which includes error and its integral, were also designed for comparison. During design, tire brake force response is modelled as an uncertainty. Controllers are simulated on a road with an abrupt change in road coefficient of adhesion. Controller parameters used are optimized, which results in comparable stopping distances while braking on a constant coefficient of adhesion road. Effect of first order actuator dynamics with varying time constants and actuator absolute time delay were considered. Reaching and sliding properties of controllers were also investigated, using results on a constant coefficient of adhesion road. It is observed that zeroth-order sliding surfaces give smoother response for both derivative and integral-derivative cases. As the controllers employing error and derivative surfaces get unstable in the presence of actuator time delay, the integral-derivative surface, proposed in this study, stands as the best controller.

Nowadays, high portion of tactical missiles use gimbaled seeker. For accurate target tracking, the platform where the gimbal is mounted must be stabilized with respect to the motion of the missile body. Line of sight stabilization is critical for fast and precise tracking and alignment. Although, conventional PID framework solves many stabilization problems, it is reported that many PID feedback loops are poorly tuned. In this thesis, recently introduced robot control method, proxy based sliding mode control, is adopted for the line of sight (LOS) stabilization. Before selecting the proposed method, adaptive neural network sliding mode control and fuzzy control are also implemented for comparative purposes. Experimental and simulation results show a satisfactory response of the proxy based sliding mode controller.

This thesis focuses on the design of an electrical drive system for the purpose of high precision motion control. A modern electrical drive is usually equipped with a current regulated voltage source along with powerful motion controller system utilizing one or more micro-controllers and/or digital signal processors (DSPs). That is, the motor drive control is mostly performed by a dedicated digital-motion controller system. Such a motor drive mostly interfaces with its host processor via various serial communication protocols such as Profibus, CAN+, RS-485 etc. for the purpose of receiving commands and sending out important status/control signals. Considering that the motor drives lie at the heart of every (multi-axis) motion control system, the aim of this thesis is to explore the design and implementation of a conventional DC motor drive system suitable for most industrial applications that require precision and accuracy. To achieve this goal, various underlying control concepts and important implementation details are rigorously investigated in this study. A low power DC motor drive system with a power module, a current regulator and a motion controller is built and tested. Several design revisions on these subsystems are made so as to improve the overall performance of the drive system itself. Consequently, important &ldquo / know-how&rdquo / required for building high performance (and high power) DC motor drives is gained in this research.

Smart structures become highly popular with the developing technology. The aim of this study is to develop a basic model, which can be also used in the design of more complex systems by performing simultaneous optimization of a structure and associated controller with respect to some design parameters and feedback gains. In this thesis work, two smart structures are used as case studies and their results are compared with the available results in the literature. The first case study is simple twobar truss problem controlled by either one or two actuators. This problem is solved both numerically and analytically. The latter is a twenty-element parabolic truss, which is controlled by four actuators. This problem is solved numerically only. In the optimization process, the design parameters are taken as the cross sectional areas of bar elements, positions and/or number of actuators, and the elements of closed loop gain matrix. In the second case study, in addition to these parameters, shape design parameters are also optimized. A coordinate transformation is applied in both cases from the displacement space to the modal space. The modal model reduction method is used in the design of second problem. The optimization goal in both cases studies is to minimize the system energy while satisfying some frequency and mass constraints. In the second case study, in addition to the original objective function, system controllability and stability robustness are also maximized. In the solution of design problem, two optimization algorithms are used one embedded within the other. In the outer loop, a hide and seek simulated annealing algorithm optimizes structural design parameters, and positions and/or number of actuators. In order to generate a candidate design family for this level, optimal closed loop gain matrices are calculated by using MATLAB&reg / .

New control methods are developed for the unconstrained motion and constrained force and motion control of flexible robots. The dynamic equations of the flexible robots are partitioned as pseudostatic equilibrium equations and deviations from them. The pseudostatic equilibrium considered here is defined as a hypothetical state where the tip point variables have their desired values while the modal variables are instantaneously constant. Then, the control torques for the pseudostatic equilibrium and for the stabilization of the deviation equations are formed in terms of tip point coordinates, modal variables and contact force components. The performances of the proposed methods are illustrated on a planar two-link robot and on a spatial three-link robot. Unmodeled dynamics and measurement noises are also taken into consideration. Performance of the proposed motion control method is compared with the computed torque method.