PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Flexible Manipulators (FMs) provide a number of benefits, containing reduced weight due to the thinness of the robot’s linkages. Although the initial plan was to use actual robots’ flexibility or slenderness to their advantage, the complex dynamics of the systems piqued interest in using an experimental flexible manipulator as a testing ground for various modeling or control strategies. A review is essential for researchers who want to align their study objectives with those of the field because the literature is extensive and diverse. Due to the widespread usage of flexible manipulators in different mechatronic and robotic applications over the past few decades, many academics worldwide are now interested in researching this topic. Studies are categorized here according to the control and modeling technologies of flexible manipulators and methodologies. Review of recent works on analysis, modeling, mechanical vibration, control algorithms, gyroscope technology and applications, difficulties in managing flexible manipulators and their anticipated future, and the majority of the notable evolutionary and optimization algorithms, including Genetic Algorithm (GA), Differential Evolution (DE), and Fuzzy Logic (FL), as well as modification approaches and techniques, are discussed and underlined. This study examines many publications, thoroughly reviewing the analytical, mathematical, dynamical modeling, mechanical vibration control techniques and most of the notable evolutionary and optimization algorithmic approaches of Robotic Flexible Manipulator (RFM) structures.

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