On the Dynamics and Optimal Control of Constrained Mechanical Systems

The focus of this work is on optimal control in redundant coordinates with a special attention to the boundary constraints that arise in this context. Due to the similarity of the optimization problem of optimal control to the Lagrangian formalism of classical mechanics, this is considered first. Once the mechanical problem of the boundary conditions in redundant coordinates has been discussed, the knowledge gained is transferred to the optimal control problem in order to solve the problem in redundant coordinates. Finally, for each section the equivalence of the problem in minimal coordinates and redundant coordinates is shown by numerical results.