Double-pendulum Crane Operator Performance Comparing Pd-feedback Control and Input Shaping

A primary limitation on crane operations is the difficulty of controlling payload oscillations. Given the significance of cranes, it is not surprising that a large amount of research has been dedicated to eliminating crane payload oscillation. Numerous feedbackbased control methods have been proposed. Command-shaping is another method that has received significant attention. This paper compares the two methods for doublependulum crane control. Using feedback control on double-pendulum cranes can be quite challenging because sensing the payload and hook motion is difficult. The paper presents a study of ten novice crane operators using representative two-mode input shaping and feedback-control methods. In this study, both feedback control and input shaping reduced average task completion time from the manually controlled case; however, input shaping provided the lowest average completion time. Input shaping also allowed the operators to move the trolley over a shorter total path length to complete the tasks, suggesting that input shaping may save energy compared to feedback and manual control methods. Implementing input shaping also resulted in zero obstacle collisions during the tests thereby improving safety.