This book explores connections between control theory and geometric mechanics. The author links control theory with a geometric view of classical mechanics in both its Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, and in particular with the theory of mechanical systems subject to motion constraints. The synthesis is appropriate as there is a rich connection between mechanics and nonlinear control theory. The book provides a unified treatment of nonlinear control theory and constrained mechanical systems that incorporates material not available in other recent texts. The book benefits graduate students and researchers in the area who want to enhance their understanding and enhance their techniques.

This book explores connections between control theory and geometric mechanics. The author links control theory with a geometric view of classical mechanics in both its Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, and in particular with the theory of mechanical systems subject to motion constraints. The synthesis is appropriate as there is a rich connection between mechanics and nonlinear control theory. The book provides a unified treatment of nonlinear control theory and constrained mechanical systems that incorporates material not available in other recent texts. The book benefits graduate students and researchers in the area who want to enhance their understanding and enhance their techniques.

A general approach to the derivation of equations of motion of as holonomic, as nonholonomic systems with the constraints of any order is suggested. The system of equations of motion in the generalized coordinates is regarded as a one vector relation, represented in a space tangential to a manifold of all possible positions of system at given instant. The tangential space is partitioned by the equations of constraints into two orthogonal subspaces. In one of them for the constraints up to the second order, the motion low is given by the equations of constraints and in the other one for ideal constraints, it is described by the vector equation without reactions of connections. In the whole space the motion low involves Lagrangian multipliers. It is shown that for the holonomic and nonholonomic constraints up to the second order, these multipliers can be found as the function of time, positions of system, and its velocities. The application of Lagrangian multipliers for holonomic systems permits us to construct a new method for determining the eigenfrequencies and eigenforms of oscillations of elastic systems and also to suggest a special form of equations for describing the system of motion of rigid bodies. The nonholonomic constraints, the order of which is greater than two, are regarded as programming constraints such that their validity is provided due to the existence of generalized control forces, which are determined as the functions of time. The closed system of differential equations, which makes it possible to find as these control forces, as the generalized Lagrange coordinates, is compound. The theory suggested is illustrated by the examples of a spacecraft motion. The book is primarily addressed to specialists in analytic mechanics.

A modern and unified treatment of the mechanics, planning, and control of robots, suitable for a first course in robotics.

This book explores connections between control theory and geometric mechanics. The author links control theory with a geometric view of classical mechanics in both its Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, and in particular with the theory of mechanical systems subject to motion constraints. The synthesis is appropriate as there is a rich connection between mechanics and nonlinear control theory. The book provides a unified treatment of nonlinear control theory and constrained mechanical systems that incorporates material not available in other recent texts. The book benefits graduate students and researchers in the area who want to enhance their understanding and enhance their techniques.

Three main disciplines in the area of multibody systems are covered: kinematics, dynamics, and control, as pertaining to systems that can be modelled as coupling or rigid bodies. The treatment is intended to give a state of the art of the topics discussed.

Available for the first time in English, this two-volume course on theoretical and applied mechanics has been honed over decades by leading scientists and teachers, and is a primary teaching resource for engineering and maths students at St. Petersburg University. The course addresses classical branches of theoretical mechanics (Vol. 1), along with a wide range of advanced topics, special problems and applications (Vol. 2). This first volume of the textbook contains the parts “Kinematics” and “Dynamics”. The part “Kinematics” presents in detail the theory of curvilinear coordinates which is actively used in the part “Dynamics”, in particular, in the theory of constrained motion and variational principles in mechanics. For describing the motion of a system of particles, the notion of a Hertz representative point is used, and the notion of a tangent space is applied to investigate the motion of arbitrary mechanical systems. In the final chapters Hamilton-Jacobi theory is applied​ for the integration of equations of motion, and the elements of special relativity theory are presented. This textbook is aimed at students in mathematics and mechanics and at post-graduates and researchers in analytical mechanics.