8. Concluding Remarks

Due to the many theoretical and practical challenges which underactuated multibody systems pose, they are a fascinating research field with increasing industrial relevance in modern machine design. Especially the appealing use of light-weight design techniques, which often include body elasticity or passive joints, require a thorough understanding of the dynamics of those underactuated multibody systems. The efficient treatment of underactuated multibody systems requires a sound basis in modeling and nonlinear control design. These must be combined with advanced computational strategies and a utilization of the typical structure and properties of underactuated multibody systems. The presented research work covers these topics in a self contained way, and represents the state of the art with many newly derived results. These are subsequently combined in an integrated optimal system design approach.