Controlling the Planar Motions of a Rigid Body Using a Movable Mass

Abstract

This work considers the controlled movements of a rigid body along a horizontal plane in the presence of dry-friction forces between the body and the plane. Control is carried out by means of an auxiliary point mass, equipped with an actuator and capable of moving relative to the body. It is shown that under certain general conditions the system is completely controllable and can be transferred from an arbitrary initial state to any given terminal state. The considered setup simulates the dynamics of rotary movements of mobile capsule robots.