Data Driven Approach to Input Shaping for Vibration Suppression in a Flexible Robot Arm

--This paper presents a simple and effective method for setting parameters for an input shaper to suppress the residual vibrations in flexible robot arms using a data-driven approach. The parameters are adaptively tuned in the workspace of the robot by interpolating previously measured data of the robot's residual vibrations. Input shaping is a simple and robust technique to generate vibration-reduced shaped commands by a convolution of an impulse sequence with the desired input command. The generated impulses create waves in the material countering the natural vibrations of the system. The method is demonstrated with a flexible 3D-printed robot arm with multiple different materials, achieving a significant reduction in the residual vibrations. Undesired residual vibrations occur after performing motions and have multiple negative effects on robots: they decrease accuracy, lower lifespan, and compromise the structural integrity [1].