An experimental investigation of the

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feedback compensation of
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& Chinedum E. Okwudire
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 Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Precision Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/precision

An experimental investigation of the effects of the compliant joint method T

on feedback compensation of pre-sliding/pre-rolling friction
Xin Dong, Chinedum E. Okwudire∗
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Mechanical bearings (i.e., sliding and rolling bearings) are widely used for motion guidance in precision posi-
Pre-sliding/pre-rolling friction tioning stages due to their low cost, large motion range and high off-axis stiffness. They are also finding in-
Bearing creasing use in ultra-precision positioning, e.g., for low-cost and long-range nanopositioning in vacuum en-
Point-to-point positioning vironments. However, mechanical-bearing-guided motion stages suffer from nonlinear pre-motion (i.e., pre-
Disturbance observer
sliding/pre-rolling) friction which adversely affects their precision and motion speed in both tracking and point-
to-point positioning applications. A compliant joint method has recently been proposed for simple, accurate and
robust feedforward compensation of pre-motion friction in tracking motions, with excellent results. This paper
experimentally investigates the influence of the compliant joint method on feedback compensation of pre-motion
friction, which is critical to achieving fast settling in point-to-point positioning. It shows using a model-free (PID)
controller that, for the same feedback gains, the mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage equipped with com-
pliant joints exhibits much more linear closed loop dynamics and higher bandwidth compared to the traditional
motion stage without compliant joints. The compliant-joint-equipped stage also has much faster settling time in
point-to-point positioning experiments for most step motions tested, except for one particular step size where it
settles slower than the traditional mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage due to the compliant joint dynamics.
With the addition of an inverse-model-based disturbance observer to the PID controller, the settling time of the
stage with compliant joints becomes uniformly much faster than the traditional mechanical-bearing-guided
motion stage; its robustness and stability margins are also shown to be superior to those of the traditional
mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage.

1. Introduction
Mechanical bearings (i.e., sliding, and especially, rolling bearings)
are the most cost-effective bearing types used in motion stages [1,2].
Accordingly, mechanical-bearing-guided motion stages are widely used
in precision applications due to their large motion range, high off-axis
stiffness and excellent in-position stability [1,2]. Mechanical-bearing-
guided motion stages are also very attractive as low-cost alternatives to
air bearing stages for a wide range of ultra-precision applications. For
instance, they are currently the only commercially viable option for a
growing number of long-range nanopositioning applications that re-
quire vacuum compatibility [2,3].
However, mechanical-bearing-guided motion stages experience
nonlinear pre-motion (i.e., pre-sliding/pre-rolling) friction which ad-
versely affects their positioning precision and speed [2,4–13]. In the
pre-motion regime, friction behaves as a nonlinear spring due to elas-
toplastic deformations and micro-slip of their inherent rolling elements,
end seals and wipers [2,4,5,10–12]. PID-type feedback controllers (e.g.,
PID, P-PI, PI-P, etc.), widely used in practice, often encounter difficul-
ties when trying to overcome the highly varying stiffness of pre-motion
friction [2,4,5,13–16]. For example, during point-to-point positioning,
the stage is commanded to travel to and settle within a pre-specified
vicinity (window) of a target position as fast as possible. Pre-motion
friction dominates as the stage approaches its target position, leading to
very sluggish settling performance [2,4,10,11,13]. Such long settling
times severely hamper motion speed. Similarly, during tracking appli-
cations (e.g., circular tracking or triangular scanning), large position
errors (glitches) often occur as the feedback controller tries to overcome
pre-motion friction at motion reversals, jeopardizing motion precision
[8,9,12].
To deal with these problems, PID-type controllers must have high
gains (i.e., high-gain feedback) in order to quickly overcome the large
stiffness of pre-motion friction (during settling or motion reversals)
[4,14,15]. However, such high-gain controllers could easily lead to
large overshoots, limit cycles and instabilities due to the rapid and
nonlinear changes of pre-motion frictional stiffness during transient

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: okwudire@umich.edu (C.E. Okwudire).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precisioneng.2018.05.004
Received 31 October 2017; Received in revised form 9 May 2018; Accepted 17 May 2018
Available online 22 May 2018
0141-6359/ © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire
motions [2,5,16]. Therefore, model-based friction compensation
methods are often used to mitigate the undesirable effects of pre-motion
friction beyond what is achievable using model-free (e.g., PID-type)
controllers; they can be executed in feedforward or feedback
[5,8–12,17–21]. Feedforward friction compensation can significantly
improve the tracking performance of mechanical-bearing-guided mo-
tion stages when the friction model employed is sufficiently accurate
[8,12]. However, it is not effective in solving the slow settling problem
caused by pre-motion friction during point-to-point positioning, be-
cause feedforward friction compensation depends on the desired velo-
city to predict and preemptively cancel out friction [2,10]. When a
stage is trying to settle to a target position, the desired velocity is often
zero, even though the actual velocity is not. Model-based feedback
friction compensation approaches make use of the actual states (e.g.,
position and velocity) of the system to improve disturbance rejection,
using disturbance observer [8,19,20], gain scheduling controllers
[4,21], friction observers [17], etc. Because pre-motion friction is ex-
tremely nonlinear and variable (i.e., difficult to model accurately),
stability and robustness issues often occur when using feedback friction
compensation methods, thus limiting their practicality [2,5]. Adaptive
control can enable a model-based feedback friction compensation
controller to handle varying friction dynamics [18,19]. However, such
approaches often suffer from convergence issues related to poor per-
sistence of excitation from smooth reference commands commonly used
in precision applications [5].
Apart from the abovementioned control-based friction compensa-
tion approaches, the undesirable effects of pre-motion friction can also
be mitigated through design-based methods. This often involves me-
chanical modification of the traditional mechanical-bearing-guided
motion stages. For example, a coarse-fine arrangement, where a “fine”
flexure-bearing-guided motion stage is mounted on a “coarse” me-
chanical-bearing-guided motion stage, is sometimes used to improve
the precision and speed of mechanical-bearing-guided motion stages
[22–24]. However, this arrangement makes the system more complex,
bulky and expensive due to the additional physical components (e.g.,
extra sensors, actuators and control hardware) [25,26]. Alternatively,
Dong et al. [2] have proposed an approach, called vibration assisted
nanopositioning (VAN), to mitigate the slow settling problem of me-
chanical-bearing-guided motion stage using high frequency vibration
(aka dither). Unlike traditional dithering techniques which could jeo-
pardize the stage's precision by directly vibrating the stage or guideway
[27,28], VAN is able to improve the settling performance of mechan-
ical-bearing-guided motion stage without vibrating the stage, thus
maintaining high precision. However, the need for additional costly
actuators (e.g., piezo actuators and voltage amplifiers) to induce vi-
brations could limit the practicality of the VAN approach. A recent
paper [29] by the present authors has proposed a new design-based
Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of a mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage with the bearing: (a) rigidly attached to the table (i.e., rigid stage), and (c) attached to the table
using the compliant joint (i.e., compliant stage); (b) and (d) are equivalent spring models of (a) and (c), respectively.
82
Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90
approach, called the compliant joint method, which is simpler (and
more cost-effective) compared to coarse-fine arrangements and VAN.
The paper [29] shows that pre-motion friction can be accurately and
robustly compensated in feedforward using simple friction models by
attaching the bearing to the moving table using a joint that is very
compliant in the motion direction. Superior performance and robust-
ness of a simple feedforward friction compensation scheme combined
with the compliant joint method has been experimentally demonstrated
through circular tracking motions with different radii and velocities
[29,30]. However, the influence of the compliant joint method on
feedback compensation of pre-motion friction of mechanical-bearing-
guided motion stage, which is critical to improving settling perfor-
mance in point-to-point positioning, has not been explored.
The key contribution of this paper is in carrying out a rigorous ex-
perimental investigation into the effects of the compliant joint method
on feedback compensation of pre-motion friction, hence its ability to
improve settling performance of mechanical-bearing-guided motion
stage in point-to-point positioning. Specifically, after a brief overview
of the compliant joint method and description of the experimental set-
up in Section 2, the paper:
1) Shows in Section 3 using a PID controller that, for the same feedback
gains, a mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage equipped with
compliant joints (i.e., compliant stage) exhibits much more linear
closed loop dynamics and higher bandwidth compared to a tradi-
tional mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage without compliant
joints (i.e., rigid stage). Moreover, the compliant stage settles much
faster in point-to-point positioning for most step motions tested,
except for one particular step size during which it settles much
slower than the rigid stage due to the dynamics of the compliant
joints.
2) Demonstrates in Section 4 that with the addition of an inverse-
model-based disturbance observer (DOB) to the PID controller, the
compliant stage achieves uniformly much faster settling time than
the rigid stage; its robustness and stability margins are also shown to
be superior to those of the rigid stage.
This is followed by conclusions and future work in Section 5.
2. Overview of compliant joint method and experimental set-up
2.1. Compliant joint method
Friction behavior can be divided into two regimes: macro- and
micro-displacement regimes [2,4–7,10–12,29,30]. They are sometimes
also referred to as the gross motion and pre-motion friction regimes,
respectively, where “motion” implies sliding and/or rolling [10–12]. In
the gross motion regime, friction is mainly a function of the relative
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire
velocity between the two objects moving against each other [5,7]. On
the other hand, in the pre-motion regime, friction is primarily a func-
tion of displacement rather than velocity, hence could be represented as
a nonlinear spring [2,4–7,10–12,29]. Fig. 1 shows the schematic of a
traditional mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage (i.e., rigid stage) in
which pre-motion friction is modeled as an equivalent spring of stiffness
kf connecting the table to ground [29]. At the start of motion or motion
reversal, kf is very large; but as more driving force is applied to coun-
teract friction, kf rapidly reduces and eventually becomes zero, allowing
gross motion of the stage [4–7,10–12]. This leads to a highly nonlinear
time-varying system which is very hard to control [2,4,5,13–16]. In
particular, the high initial stiffness of pre-motion friction leads to large
position errors (e.g., quadrant glitches) and slow settling behavior of
mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage, as discussed in Section 1.
Fig. 1 (c) shows the concept of the compliant joint method (pro-
posed by authors in Ref. [29]). Rather than being rigidly attached to the
moving table, the bearing of a mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage
is attached using a joint of stiffness kj in the motion direction. Ac-
cordingly, the stage with the compliant joint (i.e., compliant stage) can
be modeled as a series combination of kf and kj, with combined stiffness
kc = kfkj/(kf + kj). Note that the bearing mass is neglected in the spring
model for the following quasi-static stiffness analysis. A very small kj
dominates the combined stiffness felt by the stage when kf is very large
in the pre-motion regime (i.e. kc ⟶ kj even when kf ⟶ ∞). As a result,
the sensitivity of the combined stiffness kc to variations in kf is given by
2
∂kc η ⎞ kj
= ⎛⎜ ⎟ ; where η=
∂kf ⎝ 1 + η⎠ kf (1)
Note that if kj ≪ kf, η → 0, and the sensitivity of kc to variations in kf
becomes very small. This indicates that if model-based friction com-
pensation is performed using kc instead of kf, the adverse effects of
errors in kf (due to low-fidelity friction modeling or variations of fric-
tion) are diminished. In the context of feedforward compensation of
pre-motion friction, we experimentally demonstrated the compliant
joint method's ability to deliver large reductions of tracking errors,
using low-fidelity friction models, with remarkable robustness in the
presence of up to 50% variations in kf [29,30].
In this paper, we seek to experimentally test the hypothesis that the
compliant joint method also improves the performance and robustness
of feedback friction compensation, hence helps to reduce settling times
in point-to-point positioning. The rationale for this hypothesis is that
the compliant joint method replaces the very stiff and variable kf with
the much softer and less variable kc, making it much easier for a
feedback controller with conservatively-tuned gains to deliver high
performance and robustness.
2.2. Experimental set-up: an ultra-precision mechanical-bearing-guided
motion stage with compliant joints
For the purposes of experimentally testing the above-discussed hy-
pothesis, an in-house-built ultra-precision mechanical-bearing-guided
motion stage equipped with compliant joint prototypes, shown in Fig. 2
(a), is utilized. The stage has 1.4 kg moving mass and 40 mm travel
range. It is guided by a pair of high-rigidity pre-loaded linear ball
bearings with end seals (THK, SR-15SB), riding on a super-precision
grade rail, lubricated using grease (THK, AFB-LF). An air core linear
motor (Aerotech, BLMUC-95), powered by a linear amplifier (Trust
Automation, TA-310), is employed to drive the stage. The table position
is measured using a linear encoder system (Renishaw, T1000 read head
and RGSZ20 scale) with post interpolation resolution of 4.88 nm. A
model of the friction dynamics of the stage is not required for the ex-
perimental study presented in this paper. However, to give the reader
some sense of the friction behavior, Fig. 3 shows the nonlinear stiffness
characteristics of pre-motion friction measured using the ultra-precision
motion stage shown in Fig. 2. The friction dynamics have also been
83
Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90
experimentally identified using the two popular pre-motion friction
models, the Dahl and generalized Maxwell-slip (GMS) models, and the
results have been reported in Ref. [29].
A compliant joint prototype designed in Ref. [29] is used to attach
each bearing of the mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage to the
table. Based on the requirement that kj is very small (see Section 2.1),
the compliant joint must have orders of magnitude less stiffness (in x
direction) than the initial large stiffness of pre-motion friction experi-
enced by the bearing. Moreover, it must also maintain the same order of
magnitude of off-axis stiffness as the bearing so as not to unduly com-
promise rigidity of the stage in the non-motion (i.e., y and z) directions.
A flexure is adopted for the design due to its non-contact and friction-
free nature. To reduce the stiffness in the motion direction, the positive-
stiffness flexure is combined in parallel with a negative-stiffness me-
chanism composed of repelling permanent magnets (PMs) to keep the
net stiffness positive but smaller than that of the flexure alone (see
Fig. 2 (b)). Fig. 2 (c) shows the manufactured compliant joint prototype.
Details of the compliant joint design and manufacture can be found in
Ref. [29]. Note that the particular design of the compliant joint pro-
totype shown in Fig. 2 may introduce Abbe errors to the ultra-precision
mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage. These issues are not ad-
dressed in this paper since they are not relevant to evaluating the
performance of the proposed method. However, they can be resolved by
standard precision engineering approaches, such as embedding the
compliant joint into a pocket in the moving table to reduce the overall
profile of the stage.
3. Effects of compliant joint method on model-free (PID)
controlled mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage
3.1. Frequency-domain evaluation
Fig. 4 (a) shows the measured frequency response functions (FRFs)
of the plant dynamics for rigid and compliant stages (i.e., from input
force to output displacement). Each FRF is obtained by applying con-
stant-amplitude sinusoidal motor current commands with varying fre-
quencies to the linear motor and recording the corresponding output
displacement magnitudes of the table position using the linear encoder.
The motor currents are scaled by a force constant of 11 N/A to convert
them to equivalent motor forces. It is well known that, in the presence
of pre-motion friction, FRFs of the system can vary significantly, de-
pending on excitation amplitudes [6,10–12,31]. Therefore, to demon-
strate the effects of pre-motion friction on rigid and compliant stages,
the FRFs are generated using input force amplitudes ranging from
0.11 N to 16.5 N (via motor current amplitudes varying from 0.01 A to
1.5 A, respectively). When the input amplitude is very small, motion of
the rigid stage is also very small due to the initial large stiffness of pre-
motion friction after each motion reversal. As a result, the measured
plant dynamics behaves as a standard spring-mass system (as shown in
Fig. 1 (b)) with one dominant low-frequency resonance induced by the
large frictional stiffness. As the input amplitude increases, the frictional
stiffness gradually decreases, causing the friction-induced resonance to
shift to lower frequencies [6,10–12], indicating a gradual transition
from pre-motion to gross motion friction. In the meantime, the motion
of the rigid stage also increases as indicated by larger DC (low-fre-
quency) gains of the FRF. Eventually, at the highest input amplitudes,
the rigid stage experiences pure gross motion and the friction-induced
low-frequency resonance disappears from the measured FRFs. Notice
that the high-frequency dynamics of the rigid stage are also greatly
affected by the variations of pre-motion friction. For example, the
magnitude/phase and resonance frequency of the mode around 400 Hz
vary significantly due to its proximity to, and interactions with, the
friction-induced resonance of the stage. Therefore, in agreement with
the literature [6,10–12], the plant dynamics of the rigid stage show
large variations (nonlinearity) in both low and high frequency regions
with changing input force magnitudes, posing significant challenges for
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90

Fig. 2. (a) An in-house built ultra-precision mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage equipped with compliant joints, (b) CAD schematic of the compliant joint and
(c) manufactured compliant joint. (Note: the linear encoder is mounted on the distal side of the table and the fixtures can be used to deactivate compliant joints).

Fig. 3. Nonlinear stiffness behavior of pre-motion friction measured on the
ultra-precision stage in Fig. 2.
feedback control [2,4,5,13–16].
Since the compliant joint stiffness is designed to be two orders of
magnitude smaller than the initial large stiffness of pre-motion friction
[29], the combined spring stiffness (in series) experienced by the
compliant stage at very small input amplitudes is dominated by the
compliant joint. This can be seen from Fig. 4 (a); with the same input
amplitudes applied to the stage, the friction-induced resonance fre-
quencies of the compliant stage are much lower, and its DC gains are
much higher, compared to those of the rigid stage. As the input force
amplitude increases, the FRFs of the compliant stage experience similar
transitions as the rigid stage, however, with less variations (of the
magnitude/phase and friction-induced resonance frequencies). More-
over, the higher-frequency dynamics of the compliant stage (e.g., the
mode at 400 Hz) are virtually unaffected by the changing frictional
stiffness, since the friction-induced resonance of the compliant stage
occurs at much lower frequencies. As a result, the compliant stage
shows smaller net stiffness and variations (nonlinearity) in the mea-
sured plant FRFs, and the variations mainly occur at low frequencies
(i.e., less than 100 Hz).
An industry-standard linear-time-invariant (LTI) PID controller is
used to control the stage, as an example of the model-free feedback
controller. It is implemented using a real-time control board (dSPACE,
DS1007) running at 10 kHz sampling frequency. The PID controller is
tuned to 180 Hz closed loop bandwidth using loop shaping, based on an
FRF of the rigid stage in the gross motion regime (i.e., using the 1.5A-
input FRF of the rigid stage in Fig. 4 (a)). The resultant P, I and D gains
are 0.72 N/μm, 138 N/(μm·s) and 8.86 × 10−4 N s/μm, respectively.
The exact same PID gains are used for controlling the compliant stage. Fig. 4
(b) shows the measured closed loop dynamics (from desired to actual
position) of the rigid and compliant stages using the PID controller.
Because the controller is tuned based on the gross-motion-regime plant
dynamics, it encounters difficulties in overcoming the large frictional
stiffness of the rigid stage in the pre-motion regime. This leads to sig-
nificant drops of the closed loop FRF magnitudes (below 0 dB) at low
frequency regions when the input amplitude is small (and pre-motion

Fig. 4. Frequency response functions (FRFs) of: (a) plant, and (b) closed loop dynamics for rigid and compliant stages using different input amplitudes. The rigid
stage exhibits large stiffness, and variations (nonlinearity) in FRF's magnitude/phase and resonance frequencies compared to the compliant stage.

84
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire
Fig. 5. Calculated (a) closed loop bandwidth (based on −3 dB criterion), (b) gain and (c) phase margins of rigid and compliant stages with the same PID controller.
friction dominates). As a result, the −3 dB closed loop bandwidth of the
rigid stage is reduced from its original value of 180 Hz in the gross
motion regime to less than 10 Hz in the pre-motion regime as shown in
Fig. 5 (a). In other words, when the stage starts from rest, e.g., during
motion reversals in tracking motions, or after overshoots in the vicinity
of a target position in point-to-point positioning, the closed loop
bandwidth is reduced to less than 10 Hz. This causes large position
errors and sluggish settling performance, as discussed in Section 1. To
overcome this shortcoming, PID gains must be increased to improve the
closed loop bandwidth in the pre-motion regime [2,4,14,15]. However,
such high-gain controller makes the rigid stage to be prone to in-
stability, sensitivity to sensor noise, integrator wind-up, chattering and
limit cycles, all of which are very detrimental to its performance [5,16].
Compared to the rigid stage, the same PID controller applied to the
compliant stage experiences much less difficulties and performance
variations between the pre-motion and gross motion regimes of friction
(see Fig. 4 (b)). This is because the nonlinearity in the plant dynamics of
the compliant stage mainly occurs at low frequency regions; in the
presence of the feedback controller, the nonlinearity is effectively
suppressed through a phenomenon known as “feedback linearization”
[32]. In other words, since the equivalent frictional stiffness experi-
enced by the compliant stage is much smaller and less variable, the
feedback controller can better overcome and regulate the disturbance
force originating from it. Therefore, a conservatively-tuned PID con-
troller (from the stand-point of the rigid stage) acts as a “high-gain”
feedback controller for the compliant stage, leading to more-consistent
and improved closed loop bandwidth for both pre-motion and gross
motion regimes of friction, as shown in Fig. 5 (a).
Fig. 5 also shows the calculated gain and phase margins of the rigid
and compliant stages with different input amplitudes. It is assumed that
each measured FRF of the stage (at a given input amplitude) represents
an LTI system. This is essentially equivalent to linearizing the nonlinear
plant at different operating points (i.e., different pre-motion frictional
stiffness values). Although local stability of the linearized systems does
not guarantee the global stability of the nonlinear system, the stability
of the individual LTI systems can be used as an indicator of the stability
of rigid and compliant stages at various operating points. For example,
it is observed that stability margins of both stages are always positive,
showing that each individual LTI system is indeed stable. Moreover, the
compliant stage maintains similar or even slightly better stability
margins (robustness) while achieving much higher closed loop band-
width, compared to the rigid stage. This is mainly due to less interaction
between the friction-induced resonance and the higher-frequency dy-
namics of the compliant stage compared to the rigid stage (see Fig. 4
(a)).
3.2. Time-domain evaluation using point-to-point positioning tests
It is of interest to evaluate whether the improvements in bandwidth
and robustness brought by the compliant joint to the PID controlled
mechanical-bearing-guided motion stage, as described in Section 3.1,
improve motion quality. Note that the quality of tracking motions is
85
Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90
most often improved using feedforward friction compensation, for
which the benefits of the compliant joint have already been demon-
strated [29,30]. Therefore, it is of particular interest here to evaluate
settling times in point-to-point positioning, for which feedback control
is critical. To this end, point-to-point motion profiles consisting of 16
consecutive steps (8 steps forward and 8 steps backward), of various
step sizes ranging from 50 nm to 5 mm are tested on rigid and com-
pliant stages. Each profile of 16 steps is repeated thrice and, in each
trial, the time taken for each step to settle into a ± 25 nm window is
evaluated. The maximum acceleration/velocity and duration of each
step size command are summarized in Table 1.
Fig. 6 summarizes the mean settling times, together with the cor-
responding one-standard-deviation band, of rigid and compliant stages
into a ± 25 nm window during point-to-point motions of different step
sizes (48 instances for each step size). For all but one of the step sizes
evaluated, the compliant stage exhibits much faster and robust settling
than the rigid stage. The exception is the 50 μm step size for which the
compliant stage settles much slower and is much less robust than the
rigid stage.
To illustrate the reason behind this discrepancy, Fig. 7 compares the
typical settling performance of rigid and compliant stages during point-
to-point motions with the 5 μm and 50 μm step sizes. During the first
step of the 5 μm case (as highlighted in the subplot), the rigid stage
takes 47.8 ms to settle, which is very long relative to the duration of the
step command (i.e., 17.7 ms); however, the compliant stage settles
within 10.5 ms (i.e., 78% faster). Similarly, during the eighth step, the
compliant stage takes 10.2 ms to settle, i.e., 88% faster than the rigid
stage (which takes 85 ms to settle). Similar improvements in settling
time are seen for all 16 steps (8 steps forward and 8 steps backward)
such that the mean settling time of the compliant stage (i.e., 10.3 ms) is
85.1% faster than that of the rigid stage (i.e., 69.1 ms). Fig. 7 (b)
compares the settling response of rigid and compliant stages for the
problematic 50 μm step size. During the first step, the rigid stage takes
237 ms to settle, while the compliant stage only takes 43.6 ms to settle,
leading to 81.6% reduction in settling time. However, it is observed that
the settling time of the compliant stage gradually increases as the stage
steps in the same direction. By the eighth step (as highlighted in the
subplot), the settling time of the compliant stage has increased to
453 ms, which is even longer than that of the rigid stage (i.e., 214 ms).
This drastic change in settling performance leads to the overall longer
mean settling time and larger one-standard-deviation band during the
Table 1
Maximum acceleration/velocity and duration of each step size command.
Step size Max. acceleration Max. velocity Duration per step
5 mm 2000 mm/s 2
80 mm/s 125 ms
500 μm 1000 mm/s2 17.8 mm/s 56 ms
50 μm 1000 mm/s2 5.6 mm/s 17.7 ms
5 μm 100 mm/s2 560 μm/s 17.7 ms
500 nm 10 mm/s2 56 μm/s 17.7 ms
50 nm 1 mm/s2 5.6 μm/s 17.7 ms
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire
Fig. 6. Settling times of rigid and compliant stages into a ± 25 nm window
during point-to-point motions of varying step sizes. Each motion profile, con-
sisting of 16 equal-sized steps, is repeated thrice. The lines represent mean
settling time values of the 48 instances of each step size and the shaded bands
indicate ± 1σ (standard deviation).
50 μm step size for the compliant stage, compared to the rigid stage.
In addition to the position measurement of the table (from the linear
encoder), a laser displacement sensor (Keyence, LA-G10) is used to
measure the absolute position of one of the bearings of the compliant
stage. As shown in Fig. 7, the bearing is assumed to be at the same
position as the table at the start of each point-to-point motion such that
the compliant joint does not experience any tension/compression. It is
observed that the motion of the bearing always lags behind that of the
table for both the 5 μm and 50 μm step sizes. Observe that, during all the
5 μm steps, the bearing is more or less stationary during settling.
However, with the problematic 50 μm steps, the bearing is almost sta-
tionary during settling for steps 1 and 2, but it begins to move sig-
nificantly during settling for subsequent steps. A similar pattern is re-
peated during the backward motion. To illustrate how the motion of the
bearing during settling affects the settling performance of the compliant
stage, Fig. 8 shows a schematic of its table and bearing motions during
settling. As is typical (see inset of Fig. 7), the table of position xt
overshoots its target position (xr), indicating that the control command
u, is larger than the tension force Fj from the compliant joint (of stiffness
kj). In order to bring the table back to the target position, the PID
controller works on reducing u to a similar or smaller level as Fj. If the
velocity (dxb/dt) of the bearing is close to zero, Fj remains almost
86
Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90
Fig. 8. Schematic of table and bearing motions of the compliant stage during
settling, explaining the reason for long settling time when dxb/dt > 0 com-
pared to when dxb/dt ≈ 0.
unchanged as the PID controller reduces u (where t represents time).
However, if the bearing is moving towards the table (i.e., dxb/dt > 0),
Fj decreases as the PID controller is reducing u, i.e., Fj becomes a
moving target. Consequently, the task of the PID controller to bring u to
similar or smaller levels as Fj becomes more difficult with dxb/dt > 0
compared to dxb/dt ≈ 0, resulting in elongated settling time.
4. Experimental evaluation of compliant joint method on PID
controller combined with disturbance observer
4.1. Inverse-model-based disturbance observer
From our experiments in Section 3, we understand that the rela-
tively poor settling performance of the 50 μm steps using the PID con-
troller alone on the compliant stage is due to the disturbance force
created by the bearing motion. Consequently, we hypothesize that
adding a disturbance observer (DOB) to the PID controller will improve
the performance of the compliant stage compared to the rigid stage,
including the 50 μm case. The rationale is that the DOB makes the PID
controller aware of the disturbance forces created by the bearing mo-
tion; therefore, it enables the PID controller to counteract the dis-
turbance faster, thus resulting quicker settling.
Fig. 9 shows the block diagram of the control scheme with an in-
verse-model-based disturbance observer [8,33–36], where C and G re-
presents the PID controller and measured plant dynamics, respectively.
The DOB estimates the disturbance forces by subtracting the control
command from the estimated input command obtained by the inverse
of a nominal plant model, Gn. A low pass filter, known as the Q filter, is
added to guarantee stability [8,33–36].
The nominal plant model of the rigid and compliant stages is chosen
as a standard second-order model [8,34,36], describing the low-fre-
quency characteristics of most positioning stages which is dominated by
Fig. 7. Typical positioning performance of rigid and
compliant stages into a ± 25 nm window during point-to-
point motions with (a) 5 μm and (b) 50 μm step sizes. The
first and eighth steps in the forward direction are high-
lighted in the subplots. The bearing motion of the com-
pliant stage is also plotted in addition to its table motion.
The bearing and table motions of the rigid stage are
identical.
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90

whose gain is dominated by fQ. A larger fQ leads to higher bandwidth of

the DOB; however, fQ is often limited in practice by the unmodeled
dynamics of the nominal model Gn, compared to the actual plant dy-
namics G, especially at high frequencies.
To analyze the tradeoff between performance and stability when
designing the Q filter, the augmented plant dynamics (i.e., closed loop
dynamics of the inner loop shown using dashed lines in Figs. 9 and 10)
can be obtained as
Fig. 9. Block diagram of the PID controller (C) combined with an inverse-
model-based disturbance observer (DOB). G (s ) Gn (s )
Gaug (s ) =
Gn (s ) + (G (s ) − Gn (s )) Q (s ) (6)
Table 2
Identified parameters of the nominal plant models of rigid and compliant Fig. 11 shows the measured FRFs of the augmented plant and closed
stages. loop dynamics for different input amplitudes (using the DOB together
with the PID controller discussed in Section 3.1) for both the rigid and
Rigid Compliant
compliant stages. At frequencies below the Q filter's cutoff frequency,
A [1/s] 120 244 the effects of the friction-induced resonance become less dominant for
B [N/(A·kg)] 7.9 13.8 the rigid stage. This is because the augmented plant dynamics ap-
proaches to the nominal model (which only experiences gross motion
friction) below the Q filter's cutoff frequency of 200 Hz (i.e., Gaug(s) →
rigid body dynamics: Gn(s) as |Q(s)| → 1). As a result, the closed loop bandwidth at medium-
B to-low input amplitudes is improved as shown in Fig. 12 (a). However,
Gn (s ) =
s (s + A) (2) the friction-induced resonance of the rigid stage at very small input
amplitudes remains largely unchanged in the augmented plant dy-
where s is the Laplace variable. The parameters A and B of the nominal namics because its frequency is higher than the bandwidth of the Q
models are obtained through least-squares-fitting of the low-frequency filter (i.e., Gaug(s) → G (s) as |Q(s)| → 0). This eventually leads to sig-
portion of the measured plant dynamics in the gross motion regime. nificant drops (below 0 dB) of the closed loop FRF magnitudes when the
Specifically, frequencies below 100 Hz of the 1.5A-input FRFs of rigid input amplitude is very small (less than 0.1 A) and pre-motion friction
and compliant stages are used to obtain A and B, as summarized in dominates. As a result, the −3 dB closed loop bandwidth of the rigid
Table 2. Due to the dynamics of the compliant joints, the low frequency stage is reduced from its original value of 200 Hz in the gross motion
portion of the measured FRF of the compliant stage has some differ- regime to less than 50 Hz in the pre-motion regime as shown in Fig. 12
ences compared to that of the rigid stage. Therefore, different para- (a). To further improve the bandwidth, the cutoff frequency of the Q
meters are obtained for rigid and compliant stages; however, they both filter must be increased such that the friction-induced resonance at very
represent the best fit under the same nominal plant structure given by small input amplitudes can be effectively attenuated. However, such a
Eq. (2). A second-order low-pass filter is adopted for Q; it is given by high-bandwidth Q filter could easily cause stability issues due to the
(2πfQ )2 fact that non-rigid-body dynamics (at high frequencies) are not in-
Q (s ) = cluded in the nominal model; hence the modeling errors at high fre-
(s + 2πfQ )2 (3)
quencies are large [8].
with its cutoff frequency (i.e., bandwidth) tuned to fQ = 200 Hz for both For the compliant stage, the friction-induced resonance is effectively
rigid and compliant stages. mitigated for all input amplitudes, since its frequency is always well
below the 200 Hz cutoff frequency of the Q filter. As a result, the
4.2. Frequency-domain evaluation augmented plant's FRFs exhibit much less variations (nonlinearity) as
shown in Fig. 11 (b). This makes it very easy for the PID controller to
To understand the effects of DOB on the feedback system, an control the compliant stage's augmented plant, leading to much more
equivalent block diagram of it is often adopted [34,35]. As shown in linear closed loop dynamics and uniformly higher bandwidth, com-
Fig. 10, the equivalent controller form of the DOB is given by, pared to the rigid stage.
To compare the stability of rigid and compliant stages in the pre-
CDOB (s ) = (1 − Q)−1QGn−1 (4) sence of DOB, Fig. 12 shows the calculated gain and phase margins of
Substituting Eqs. (2) and (3) into Eq. (4), both stages with different input amplitudes. When the DOB is im-
plemented with a cutoff frequency of 200 Hz, the stability margins of
(2πfQ )2 ⎛ s + A ⎞ the rigid stage at gross motion regime become very small, indicating
CDOB (s ) = ⋅⎜
B s + 4πfQ ⎟ (5) that the closed loop system is very sensitive to any unmodeled dy-
⎝ ⎠
namics or variations in parameters (i.e., poor robustness). Moreover, as
The resulting feedback controller form of the DOB is equivalent to a the input amplitude reduces (and pre-motion friction becomes more
lead compensator (since A ≪ 4πfQ for both rigid and compliant stages) dominant), the stability margins of the rigid stage drop significantly
and eventually become less than zero. This leads to an unstable LTI
system when the rigid stage operates in the pre-motion regime, im-
plying that the original nonlinear system also suffers from stability is-
sues. However, the stability margins of the compliant stage are uni-
formly larger than that of the rigid stage and always stay above zero,
showing that the closed loop system is much more robust. Moreover,
the gain margin remains almost unchanged as the input amplitude
varies, thanks to the reduced nonlinearity and more-consistent aug-
mented plant dynamics of the compliant stage for both pre-motion and
Fig. 10. Block diagram of the PID controller (C) combined with the equivalent gross motion regimes of friction.
form of DOB.

87
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90

Fig. 11. Frequency response functions (FRFs) of (a) augmented plant and (b) closed loop dynamics for rigid and compliant stages with PID controller combined with
DOB (of 200 Hz cutoff frequency) using different input amplitudes. The rigid stage exhibits large stiffness, and variations (nonlinearity) in FRF's magnitude/phase
and resonance frequencies compared to the compliant stage; the bandwidth of the rigid stage's DOB is reduced to 100 Hz to guarantee stability (as discussed in
Section 4.3).

Fig. 12. Calculated (a) closed loop bandwidth (based on −3 dB criterion), (b) gain and (c) phase margins of rigid and compliant stages with PID controller combined
with DOB. The DOB of 200 Hz bandwidth is stable on the compliant stage but unstable on the rigid stage; the bandwidth of the rigid stage's DOB is reduced to 100 Hz
to guarantee stability (as discussed in Section 4.3).

4.3. Time-domain evaluation using point-to-point positioning tests 3.2. The same PID controller as in Section 3 is used on both stages.
However, while the DOB tuned in Section 4.1 works for the compliant
Point-to-point positioning tests are carried out on the rigid and stage, it leads to instability when used on the rigid stage, as predicted
compliant stages using the same motion profiles introduced in Section by the stability margin plots of Fig. 12. Fig. 13 shows an example of the

88
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire
Fig. 13. Typical positioning performance of the rigid stage with DOB during
point-to-point motions with the 5 mm step size. The stage suffers from severe
oscillations during settling when the cutoff frequency of the DOB is set to
150 Hz and 200 Hz.
instability of the rigid stage during point-to-point motions with the
5 mm step size using 200 Hz bandwidth DOB. During settling, the stage
suffers from severe oscillations such that it is not able to settle within
the desired ± 25 nm window. Reducing the bandwidth of the Q filter to
150 Hz reduces but does not fully mitigate the oscillations. Therefore,
the cutoff frequency of the Q filter is further reduced to 100 Hz, which is
stable from the frequency-domain standpoint (see Fig. 12), as well as in
time-domain (for all the step sizes tested). Therefore, for all the point-
to-point positioning tests conducted in the rest of this section, a 100 Hz
bandwidth DOB is used for the rigid stage, while a 200 Hz bandwidth
DOB is used for the compliant stage (because it is stable for all the step
sizes tested).
Fig. 14 summarizes the mean settling times, together with the cor-
responding one-standard-deviation band, of rigid and compliant stages
into a ± 25 nm window during point-to-point motions of different step
sizes (48 instances for each step size). It is observed that the settling
performance of the rigid stage varies a lot within the same step size, and
as the step size changes. The performance variations within the same
step size are due to the changes in friction dynamics from position to
position along the travel range of the stage. On the other hand, the
compliant stage achieves uniformly much better settling performance
with superior robustness compared to the rigid stage, resulting no less
than 48% and up to 98% reductions of the mean settling time compared
to the rigid stage. Moreover, the much slower and less robust settling
performance of the compliant stage during point-to-point motions with
the 50 μm step size is eliminated.
Fig. 15 compares the typical settling performance of rigid and
compliant stages with DOB during point-to-point motions with the 5 μm
and 50 μm step sizes. During the 5 μm case, the rigid stage takes 30.5 ms
Fig. 14. Settling times of rigid and compliant stages with DOB into a ± 25 nm
window during point-to-point motions of varying step sizes. Each motion pro-
file consisting of 16 equal-sized steps is repeated thrice. The lines represent
mean settling time values of the 48 instances of each step size and the shaded
bands indicate ± 1σ (standard deviation).
89
Precision Engineering 54 (2018) 81–90
and 29.5 ms to settle in the first and eighth steps while the compliant
stage settles within 7 ms and 6.7 ms, respectively. During point-to-point
motions with the 50 μm step size, the rigid stage takes 39.5 ms and 56.1
ms to settle in the first and eighth steps, respectively, while the com-
pliant stage takes 13.5 ms and 13.3 ms to settle in the first and eight
steps. This shows that the undesirable effects of the bearing motion
during settling is effectively attenuated when the DOB is implemented
in the control scheme. Although the bearing still moves significantly
during settling for the 50 μm case, the DOB is able to effectively esti-
mate and cancel out the disturbance force originating from its motion.
This significantly reduces the workload of the PID controller such that it
can quickly move the compliant stage to the target position.
5. Conclusions and future work
This paper carries out an experimental investigation of the effects of
the compliant joint method on feedback compensation of pre-motion
friction, and hence its effectiveness in improving the settling perfor-
mance of mechanical-bearing-guided motion stages during point-to-
point positioning applications. It is shown using a model-free (PID)
controller that for the same feedback gains, the mechanical-bearing-
guided motion stage equipped with compliant joints (i.e., compliant
stage) demonstrates much less variations (nonlinearity) in closed loop
dynamics and higher bandwidth compared to the traditional mechan-
ical-bearing-guided motion stage without compliant joints (i.e., rigid
stage). This is because with the compliant joint, the very stiff and
variable frictional stiffness is replaced with a much softer and less
variable stiffness, making it much easier for a feedback controller with
conservatively-tuned gains to deliver high performance and robustness
through feedback linearization. The compliant stage also achieves
much faster and robust settling than the rigid stage for most step mo-
tions tested. However, during point-to-point motions with the 50 μm
step size, it settles much slower than the rigid stage with significantly
increased variations in settling time. By measuring both the table and
bearing displacements, it is observed that the sluggish settling behavior
of the compliant stage is due to the bearing motion during settling,
which poses significant difficulties for the PID controller to compensate
the resultant disturbance force from the bearing motion.
An inverse-model-based disturbance observer (DOB) combined with
the PID controller is proposed as a possible approach to address the
effects of bearing motion on the settling performance of the compliant
stage. It is experimentally demonstrated that with the addition of the
DOB to the PID controller, the bandwidth and robustness of the com-
pliant stage relative to the rigid stage is further improved. Moreover, it
is able to mitigate the undesirable effects of the bearing motion during
point-to-point motions with the 50 μm step size, because of the ability
of the DOB to observe and cancel out the disturbances emanating from
the motion of the bearing. As a result, the compliant stage outperforms
the rigid stage (also controlled using a PID controller plus DOB), and
settles within the desired ± 25 nm window in less than 20 ms for all the
step sizes tested.
Future work will complement the experimental study presented in
this paper with theoretical analysis using models of mechanical-
bearing-guided motion stage with pre-motion frictional dynamics, to
gain deeper insights into the dynamics of the compliant joint as it in-
teracts with friction. This will, for instance, help explain why the
bearing motion was significant for the 50 μm step sizes compared to
other step sizes evaluated in our experiments. Such theoretical analysis
will also give useful insights on how to best select the parameters – e.g.,
stiffness and damping – of the compliant joint. On the practical side,
future work will also explore new compliant joint designs which have
tunable stiffness and damping properties. Introducing tunable stiffness
and damping into the compliant joint will enable it to have low stiffness
during motion of the stage, and high stiffness once it gets into position –
in order to have better in-position stability.
X. Dong, C.E. Okwudire
Fig. 15. Typical positioning performance of rigid and compliant stages with DOB into a ± 25 nm window during point-to-point motions with (a) 5 μm and (b) 50 μm
step sizes. The first and eighth steps in the forward direction are highlighted in the subplots.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Aerotech Inc. for donating some of the
key components used in building the experimental set-up. This work is
funded by National Science Foundation Award CMMI #1562297:
Vibration Assisted Nanopositioning: An Enabler of Low-cost, High-
throughput Nanotech Processes.
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Sekkya Prince, established himself in the hill country about Kyaukse,
only thirty miles from Mandalay, and as late as 1889 gave an
immense amount of trouble, setting the military police at defiance for
months, and committing many murders and depredations. He had an
armed following of several hundreds, and several fights took place
between them and the police. Though the dacoits were each time
defeated and scattered, the ground was so difficult for pursuit, that
they could never catch the leader. At length he was taken in the
Shan States, brought to Kyaukse, tried, convicted and hanged. This
is a specimen of the kind of guerilla warfare going on in every district
all over the country at that time.
Another matter, which still further complicated the situation and
gave strength to the forces of disorder, was the sanction which
dacoity had received through the corruption of those high in office in
the Burman Government before we took it over. A British civil officer
of high rank, the commissioner of a division, writes as follows, as late
as the middle of 1889, more than three years after the annexation:—
“The task of reducing my own division to order I find a gigantic
one. The Burman nature is simply saturated with lawlessness, and it
takes the form of dacoity. Since King Mindohn’s death [i.e., from the
accession of King Theebaw in 1878] it is a fact that most of the
official classes in Upper Burma made large incomes by dacoity. Men
high in office in Mandalay actually kept dacoit bohs, and shared with
them loot, or the subsidies which were paid by the villagers for
protection from other dacoits. The dacoit bohs were actually the
governors, and paid some of the mingyees [ministers of state] in
Mandalay regular sums, on condition of being let alone! Each boh
had a large immediate gang or body of men around him, and a militia
at any time available from the villages. We have had to break up this
system of boh government all over Upper Burma, a system which
had been running for the last ten years. The villagers themselves
have become so accustomed to the government by dacoit chiefs,
that they are actually afraid and even unwilling to help in getting rid
of them. It will be admitted that difficulties like these are enormous;
sometimes they seem to be insuperable, and one is often inclined to
despair. We have not only to deal with the thousands of lawless ones
who think we are encroaching upon their rights, but we have to try
and educate the people to believe that these dacoits are not their
rulers, and are not to be so. The villagers do not yet realise this, and
it is this process of education, slow and painful, that impedes us so
terribly in the work of subjugation and pacification. But the progress
made has been very great.”
The following is given as a specimen of the encounters which for
the first two or three years were of constant occurrence. This affair
was perhaps exceptional in the amount of resistance offered, but in
other respects quite usual and ordinary. It is quoted from a
newspaper dated May 1888:—
“On the night of the 21st inst. 400 dacoits, principally Shans, with
people from Mogaung district, under the leadership of Boh Ti, took
up a position outside Mogaung. Lieutenant O’Donnell, Battalion
Commandant, and Lieutenant Elliot, Assistant Commissioner, with
75 Goorkha military police, patrolled outside the fort the whole night.
At 4 a.m. they attacked the dacoits, who held a strong position in a
series of pagodas, which they had fortified during the night. The
dacoits tenaciously held the position, and the consequence was that
a fierce contest ensued, each pagoda being taken in succession.
The last pagoda, when taken, was found to be choked with dead.
The Goorkha police behaved splendidly. Our casualties were 8 killed
and 15 wounded, while 49 dead dacoits were counted, and over 100
were reported as wounded, most of whom escaped. The struggle at
the last pagoda was hand to hand over a four-foot wall, and
bayonets and spears were used. It was here that 6 out of the 8
police killed fell.”
The mention of these fights deserves a place in any record of
those times, for it was through this hard, rough police and military
work—this continuous pounding at the mass of crime and
lawlessness that would not yield to gentler measures—that the land
now enjoys peace and quiet throughout its length and breadth. There
was manifestly no other way of quelling the disorders and curing the
miseries under which the country groaned.
 This was a specimen of the fighting of our Indian military police;
now for a specimen of that of our English soldiers, who also were
incessantly employed in patrolling the country, and often met with
dacoit bands. The instance given here does not by any means stand
alone; similar affairs often occurred at that time. It illustrates the
courage and dash our men have shown throughout this very
laborious and difficult campaign. Often called to go out in very small
parties, they usually carried the day against all odds; and even
when, as in this instance, they met with such an unusual number of
casualties as to debar them from getting the victory, their coolness
and presence of mind have staved off defeat and disaster, and
enabled them to get through so well that the reverse was,
considering the circumstances, as creditable as a victory would have
been.
“On January 14th, 1889, information reached Lieutenant Nugent,
in charge of a small force of the Hants Regiment, that the advanced
guard of a certain rebel prince was stockaded in a village ten miles
away. He at once decided to attack. He marched out with Sergeant
Bevis and 15 privates, preceded by some of the troops, such as they
were, of the Sawbwa of Momeit. On turning the corner of a jungle
path, their stockade was observed with the gate shut, and white flags
(emblematic of royalty) flying at the gate. The dacoits, on seeing our
men, at once began to blow horns and beat tomtoms. Our Burmese
auxiliaries at once made off, firing their weapons in the air.
Nevertheless Lieutenant Nugent and the 16 Englishmen promptly
charged the stockade, 16 against 200! When about thirty yards from
the stockade the dacoits delivered such a heavy and well-directed
volley that 8 out of the 16 were hit. Private Roberts was killed on the
spot, and Lieutenant Nugent himself was wounded. Seeing that
himself and half his party were disabled, and further assault was out
of the question, Nugent gave the order to get the wounded from
under fire and retire. It is at this point that the soldierly qualities of
these men specially appear. The few men who were able had
meanwhile got under cover of a slight inequality in the ground, and
were keeping up a fire on the stockade. While himself assisting
Private James, who was dangerously wounded, Lieutenant Nugent
was again struck a little below the left breast, this time mortally.
 “Sergeant Bevis now took the command, and rallied his small
party round their fallen officer, and seeing that the dacoits, now
emboldened by observing the small number opposed to them, were
coming out at the gate, he ordered his men to fire a volley. This
caused the enemy to retire inside the stockade, and our party was
molested no more. Stretchers were improvised with rifles and
bamboos for Lieutenant Nugent and Private James, the other
wounded managing to walk. The party made a halt at the village
which they had passed marching out; and here the gallant Nugent
breathed his last. By dint of much pressure and promises of reward
Sergeant Bevis obtained assistance from the Sawbwa’s troops to
carry the body and the bad cases to Momeit.”
Sergeant Bevis was much commended for his good management.
He was promoted at once, and received the decoration of the
Distinguished Service Order. Five days after a small force of
Hampshire men and military police surprised and carried the
stockade.
Many were the deeds of valour in this long and trying campaign. A
considerable number of badges of the Distinguished Service Order
were awarded, and of the highest decoration for gallantry in the field
that military men can aspire to, the Victoria Cross, no less than three
were given.
After what has been said about the Burmese ministers of the
Crown, it will be no matter of surprise that the honest attempt of the
British Government to utilise the local knowledge and experience of
the Hloot Daw or supreme council of the king, as the medium of
government, should entirely break down. As might have been
expected, those worthies were found to be worse than useless at
such a crisis. The kind of government they had been accustomed to
administer was just the kind that was not wanted. They were
therefore pensioned off, the pension acting in a twofold manner, as a
substantial compensation for loss of office, and as a guarantee of
their loyalty; they had something to lose.
During the first year or two of the British occupation there was
need for very special vigilance to prevent the carrying out of plots of
insurrection, especially in Mandalay. It was of course childish to think
they could dislodge the British power, but many of the people were
slow to believe this, and foolish enough to listen to boasting
proposals of this kind. However, such a good watch was kept, and
the officials kept themselves so well informed, that all such attempts
were nipped in the bud. Some idea of the magnitude of the work of
pacification may be gathered from a paper published by the Chief
Commissioner of Burma in 1889, from which it appears that no less
than 363 dacoit bohs or leaders were either killed, or surrendered, or
were taken prisoners between April 1887 and August 1889.
The British Government, whilst very stern in pursuing, arresting
and punishing these notorious outlaws, made every concession
towards mercy where it was possible. When a gang of dacoits was
broken up, and the boh killed or taken, the men composing it were
usually allowed to settle down in their villages, giving some sort of
guarantee for their future good behaviour. As soon as it became safe
to show any considerable leniency, the cases of all who had been
sentenced to terms of penal servitude for participating in dacoity
were carefully gone through by an experienced and able judicial
commissioner, for the purpose of remitting the punishment wherever
it could safely be done, particularly in cases where men had been
led, during a time of anarchy and political excitement, to take part in
crimes and acts of violence, from which, under ordinary
circumstances, they would have abstained. The result was that 899
prisoners were set at liberty at once, and 450 more were promised
their release in the following December if their conduct in jail
continued good. Only the worst and most desperate offenders were
kept in jail.
It is just possible that some readers, failing to realise the full force
of all the circumstances, may be inclined to think that the information
given in this chapter leans too much in the direction of admiration of
the military deeds described, and is lacking in consideration for the
case of the unfortunate men against whom these operations were
directed. I feel that it would ill become me to do anything to fan the
flame of the military spirit, for militarism is without doubt one of the
great curses of this age, and I have had no such design in view. I
have merely described what took place. If the reader feels inclined to
admire any of the actions here described, I must give him notice that
he does it entirely on his own responsibility.
It may occur to the reader that perhaps after all it was the spirit of
patriotism that animated these Burmans. Were they not fighting for
their country and their liberty, and doing their feeble best to cast out
the invader? Doubtless there was in some cases something of this
feeling in their minds, enough to give a colourable pretext to their
conduct at the time. But there are considerations that go to show that
if we are to make any allowance on this account it will have to be
very little.
Dacoity existed and was rampant for years prior to our annexation
of the country.
How is the motive of patriotism to be reconciled with the gross
cruelty, and robbery, and murder which all the dacoit bands
continually practised?
When so many hundreds of bohs were fighting, each for his own
hand, which were we to recognise? And how many? Their claims to
the mastery were mutually antagonistic.
I have already said that I decline to take the responsibility either of
defending or of impeaching the action of England in the invasion of
Upper Burma. It involves the great and wide question of Empire,
which I leave to more competent hands. I content myself with giving
the facts from the standpoint of an eyewitness, and enabling or
assisting wiser men to settle the greater question. I take up the
question at this point—England the de facto ruler. Somehow,
rightfully or wrongfully, she is there, and has undertaken the
government of the country. The country is in a flame with crime and
disorder. What is she to do?
There have been times, even in our own country, when certain
crimes of violence, such as garotting, and certain forms of murder,
have spread so as to cause almost a panic, and have needed
special measures both as to detection and punishment. We are far
more liable to such things in India. Take, for instance, that strange
phase of crime known as “thuggee,” which prevailed to a fearful
extent years ago in India, and to which, in respect of each being an
epidemic form of crime, dacoity in Burma has sometimes been
compared. Thuggee was a thoroughly organised system of robbery
and murder, carried out with great secrecy by an association of men
banded together for the purpose, and who did it not by open assault
but by stealthy approaches, and, strangest of all, with religious
motives. The verdict of civilised society was that the extermination of
the thugs was not only a justifiable thing to be done, but the solemn
duty of the Government, notwithstanding the religious motives, and
special officers of Government were deputed for that purpose, and
the system was finally stamped out.
So with dacoity. If men will be brutal, will set all law, human and
divine, at defiance, will make human life cheap and property unsafe,
and keep the whole country in terror and confusion, to the detriment
of all peace and progress, if, in short, they will come to no terms, but
deliberately elect to assume the character of wild beasts preying on
society, then all reasonable men will feel constrained sorrowfully to
admit that a civilised Government has no alternative but to treat them
as such, and hunt them down; always however remembering that, as
it is in the divine, so in the human administration, justice should be
tempered with mercy; and wherever there is room to hope for better
things, the criminal should have another chance, a provision which
our Government, as I have shown, has not neglected.
 CHAPTER VI.
BRITISH INFLUENCE IN THE SHAN STATES.

The previous chapter dealt with the pacification of Upper Burma

proper, that tract of country which England has annexed, and in
which we have assumed the full responsibility of government. In this
chapter we have to consider our relations with certain states and
tribes on our frontiers, which are not British territory, but for whose
well-being and good behaviour we hold ourselves to some extent
responsible, in proportion as our influence among them is more or
less direct.
As soon as our first difficulties in the pacification and
administration of Upper Burma were to some extent overcome, our
Government had to turn its attention to the doings of the many
barbarous and semi-barbarous tribes and races in the regions
immediately adjacent to Burma.
To the east of Upper Burma, and situated between that country
and the great empire of China, are the Shan States tributary to
Burma, with an area about four-fifths that of England, but with a
population no larger than that of Worcestershire, not one-fourth, it is
said, of what it was fifty years ago. This country is a very fine one,
consisting of a great plateau with a diversified climate and great
natural resources, of which coal is one, though it has not yet been
worked, and with every capacity for development. The Shan States
are likely to play no unimportant part in the commercial development
of the next few years, for it is by that route that the railway will go
from Burma to China at no distant date.
At present these states are in a most backward and uncivilised
condition, and as they afford such an interesting illustration of the
true frontier policy of England in the East, and the kind of influence
our country is so well able to exert, in the discharge of her duty as
the great suzerain power amongst many little races and peoples, I
make no apology for describing it with some degree of detail. Such
work as England is attempting to do, and will in the end undoubtedly
succeed in doing there, is so beneficent and meritorious as to be
beyond the possibility of objection; and it would excite remark and
applause if it were not so common—if England were not doing much
the same all over her Eastern dominions.
The relation of the Shan States to the British rule is a feudatory
relation. They paid tribute to the King of Burma, and were supposed
to be subject to him, but although receiving tribute, Burma conferred
no benefits upon them. In fact, the idea that something in the shape
of government was due to the Shans, in return for the tribute they
paid, probably never entered the head of King Theebaw. These
states have not been annexed to British territory, and are not likely to
be, unless it should be found quite impossible to get their chiefs to
learn to rule properly. At present the policy is entirely in the direction
of setting these native rulers on their feet, and strengthening their
power as much as possible. When the English commenced to rule at
Mandalay that feudatory relation to the defunct Burmese
Government passed over to the English.
Politically the Shan States are divided amongst some eighteen
chiefs, each ruling a greater or less extent of territory. In the early
part of 1888 two British expeditions were sent to the Northern and
Southern Shan States respectively, and the first steps were taken
toward adjusting our relations with them.
The condition in which the States were found by the British forces
was a very sad one. For want of a controlling power over them there
was a state of disorder amounting almost to anarchy. Might was
right, and in the struggle for mastery the Shans were fast
exterminating each other. Each petty chieftain with his followers was
on the look-out to extend the sphere of his rule by aggression, and
dacoit raids and incessant civil war were the result.
Throughout the reign of King Theebaw the States had suffered,
and the population had so seriously fallen off, by war and perhaps
too by emigration, that land had fallen out of cultivation, and
prosperous towns had been reduced, in some cases, to one-tenth of
their former size. Added to this there had been a season of scarcity,
and cattle disease had been very fatal.
The people cordially welcomed the advent of a strong power that
could enforce peace amongst them; and what was wanting for the
temporal salvation of this distressed country was just that kind of
sovereignty and paternal rule which England was able and willing to
give them. It was necessary for England to assert and maintain her
rights as the suzerain power, and to discharge her duties by taking
them under the broad shield of her protection and guidance.
The British representatives accordingly received the personal
submission of all the principal sawbwas or chiefs, confirmed them in
their positions as tributary rulers, settled their relations with
Government and with each other, fixed the amount of tribute to be
paid by each chief, and succeeded in placing the administration of
the states on a satisfactory footing. Two British officials were
appointed as Superintendents of the two divisions of the Shan
States, northern and southern. Tribal disputes were henceforth to be
referred to these officials for arbitration, and fighting between
individual states was strictly forbidden. They were not to enter into
relations with any other foreign power; and they were gradually to
approximate their primitive methods of government to our standards.
In return for these conditions, to be fulfilled by the Shans, certain
very substantial advantages were bestowed upon them by the
British. Each chieftain is recognised and protected in the exercise of
his chieftainship.
The import duties formerly levied by Burma on goods going from
Shanland into Burma are abolished, to the great advantage and
encouragement of their trade.
The great want of means of communication through the country is
being met by the construction of roads by the British Government, at
its own expense.
A preliminary survey has been made of the different routes for a
railway to run through the country, and a more accurate and detailed
survey of the one chosen is to be made shortly.
The navigation of the upper parts of the Salween River, which
flows through the Shan States, is receiving attention with the view of
utilising it for purposes of trade, if it be found practicable.
Experiments are being made under the auspices of the British in
the Shan country, in order to introduce the cultivation of new cereals
and other products amongst them, and to improve their breed of
cattle and sheep.
In short, England is trying to do her duty by this naturally
magnificent but very backward country, and it may be confidently
stated that if any Government could help them on their feet it is the
one they now have. The most recent information from the Chief
Superintendent of the Shan States, the responsible British officer
appointed to look after them, shows that he finds them in a most
benighted and backward condition socially and politically, and there
will be need for lengthened intervention and much patience and
perseverance on the part of the British Government. It is found that
there has been no such thing as law in the country, written or
unwritten. Everybody does what is right in his own eyes, if he can.
The hold which these chiefs have on the territories they are
supposed to rule is of the feeblest description; and it will require time
for the people to get out of that state of turbulence, unrest and
distraction, and for the rulers to acquire power and experience for
civil rule. Like incompetent rulers, they try at present to maintain their
authority by inflicting most barbarous punishments for the most trivial
offences.
The Sawbwa of Thibaw is reported to be the only chief among
them who exercises any real and active control throughout his state,
and he endeavours to enforce the rule that the power of awarding
capital punishment shall be restricted to the chiefs. In all the other
states the people are fleeced by the minor officials, and criminal
justice is administered in a cruel and haphazard fashion. An English
traveller recently found the fresh head of a so-called thief posted up
in the Mangko bazaar; and in another place through which he
travelled a boy of sixteen was summarily killed and barbarously
mutilated, on the ground that he had been seen entering a buffalo
shed, and was therefore supposed to be attempting cattle-stealing.
As a beginning in the way of much-needed reform, our paternal
Government has framed for their guidance a few simple rules for the
administration of criminal justice, and supplied them to each
chieftain, as a sort of alphabet of government for them to learn. I
wonder what they think of our notions of justice. They must appear to
them unaccountably and unnecessarily lenient towards the prisoner.
How it must puzzle them, for instance, to be told that an accused
person must be presumed to be innocent until he is proved to be
guilty!
As a lesson in revenue and finance, each chief is now required to
frame a simple form of budget for his state, subject to the approval of
the Superintendent, fixing the amount to be devoted to the private
expenditure of the ruling family, and making reasonable provision for
the administration of civil and criminal justice, police, and public
works. It puts one in mind of a class of boys coming up with their
lessons written out for the teacher to see; but it is evidently needed
work, and it will not do to despise the day of small things. It will of
course be a new idea to them that anybody else but the sawbwa
himself has anything to do with the expenditure of the revenue of the
state, which they have always been accustomed to consider as his
private property. But Orientals take kindly to this tutelage, and will
scarcely think of resenting it, though they might be tempted to
neglect it if they could. And it must not be supposed that this case of
the Shan States is any rarity, for this kind of inspection, instruction
and guidance is only what we are called upon to do in a greater or
less degree in all the protected states which are feudatory to our
Indian Empire, and in other parts of the world.
The Chief Commissioner of Burma, to whom all the chiefs are
amenable, commenting on the above rules, endorses the opinion
expressed by one of the Superintendents, that it will probably be
found impossible to effect any real reforms until a trained Dewan
(Prime Minister) is appointed for each state to teach the rulers how
to rule. As England is very resolute in all she takes in hand in this
way, perhaps in course of time some faint sense of the responsibility
of ruling may find its way into the minds of these benighted Shan
sawbwas. But if it be not so, and if in the end England should find
herself compelled, in the interests of humanity, to take a still larger
share of the responsibility of ruling in that country, of which however
there is at present no sign or mention, the foregoing information
clearly shows that it will not be for want of an honest effort to get
them to do it themselves.
All this explains incidentally how it is that Empire with its
responsibilities grows on our hands. In human affairs, when a man
does his work well, you promote him by giving him more work to do.
When the sudden emergency arises men naturally saddle the willing
horse. It is so throughout the divine economy also. “Whatsoever thy
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” “For unto every one that
hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that
hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away.”
Of one thing there is no doubt, the states now enjoy tranquillity
and the beginnings of prosperity such as they have not enjoyed for
many years. Not long ago, meeting a Shan who had just come to
Mandalay several days’ journey on foot through the Shan States, I
asked him what was the present condition of the country. His reply
was, “So quiet, that even an unprotected female could walk through
it.”
The chieftain mentioned above with approval as an exceptional
prince, and more enlightened than his fellows, is the Sawbwa of
Thibaw. He once had a curious experience, that appears to have
considerably opened his mind and enlarged his ideas. Some years
ago, before the annexation of Upper Burma was even thought of, he
paid a visit to the great city of Rangoon. Like the Queen of Sheba,
who had heard of the wisdom and glory of Solomon, he had received
tidings of the great transformation that had taken place in that city,
and wished to see the British power for himself. Possibly, as the
Shans are Buddhists, he might be inclined also to pay a visit to the
world-renowned Buddhist shrine at Rangoon, the Shwê Dagohn
pagoda. To venture so far away from his remote inland state among
the mountains shows him to be a man of some natural force of
character, for most sawbwas would have been afraid to leave their
states for so long. Whilst in Rangoon one of his retainers displeased
him, and in a burst of anger he killed him on the spot. But,
unfortunately for him, this had happened in British territory, where
they call such actions, no matter who does them, by the name of
murder; and he was accordingly arrested and put in jail to stand his
trial for that crime. His plea was of course that he was a king, and
that he had the power of life and death; and seeing that such was
the case in his own territories, and that he had no idea he was
exceeding his prerogative in doing as he did, he was released, and
some good advice was given him for future use. It is gratifying to find
that this experience has borne fruit, and that years after, when in
course of things the Shan States have become tributary to Britain,
and an attempt is being made to bring them somewhat into line with
more enlightened nations, he is officially named as the most
progressive and reliable of the Shan rulers.
Other operations for the pacification of our Burmese frontiers may
be mentioned here. Amongst the barbarous and unlettered tribes on
the mountains in the north there has been a continuance of the kind
of lawlessness prevalent in the days before our rule in Upper Burma.
The tribes of wild Kachins there have given considerable trouble
from time to time. They are warlike and predatory, and in their
mountains and jungles able to offer considerable resistance.
Occasionally, too, in the north, large numbers of disbanded
Chinese soldiers have turned dacoits, and crossed the frontier into
the Bhamo district to plunder. They have, however, suffered severely
whenever they have tried conclusions with the British columns sent
out against them. Attention is being given to the delimitation of the
Chinese frontier, which will lead the way to a better protection of it on
both sides. In the east the Red Karens gave trouble, while on the
west the wild Chins of the Arakan Yoma mountains continued their
former practice of raiding into Burma and carrying off loot and
captives.
THE GOLDEN PAGODA AT MANDALAY, COMPLETELY COVERED WITH GOLD
LEAF.

All this had to be brought to an end, and these lawless marauders

given clearly to understand that it would no longer be permitted, but
that a power now ruled in Burma that was able to keep them in
check, and would protect the interests of its subjects against their
acts of rapine and violence. Several expeditions were undertaken for
this purpose to the different mountain tribes, and much hard, rough
work had to be done; but beyond keeping these tribes in order in
relation to Burma, it is uncertain yet what measures England will
initiate for their internal government.
In connection with these different expeditions much valuable
exploration and surveying work have been done on our frontiers, in
what was formerly an unknown country.
On the whole, it will be seen that to restore order and establish
good government, in a country like this, and under such
circumstances, was a work of gigantic difficulty, requiring much
activity and vigilance, much firmness and courage, readiness of
resource, and withal a long purse. What has been spent, however,
may be regarded as capital well laid out, that has already begun to
be productive. Seldom, perhaps, has England undertaken a heavier
task so far away from home; never has she accomplished it with
more credit. Gradually, but surely, the British talent for organising
and ruling has asserted itself, and the great resources at our
command, despite the smallness of our numbers on the spot, have
materially helped to win the victory. One cannot but admire that
splendid courage, and that administrative ability, whereby our
countrymen have taken over a country of vast extent, in a condition
bordering on anarchy, and in five years, with the aid that India has
been able to give in men and means, they have made it safer and
more prosperous to live in than at any previous period of its history in
modern times.
The more extended notice of the progress made in the material
development of Upper Burma is reserved for another chapter.
 CHAPTER VII.
FIVE YEARS OF BRITISH RULE.

British rule would have nothing to justify its presence in such a

country as Burma if it did not evidently make for the well-being of the
people. In this chapter we have to consider the initiation of those
measures that have been adopted with this view, and to ascertain
how far they are likely to secure it. Five years is not a period of time
from which much can be expected by way of results, but it is long
enough for us to form an estimate of the kind of beginning that has
been made.
Under Burmese rule no attempt was made at a division of the work
of the executive into departments. Each minister of state was
considered eligible to take charge of any and every post in the state,
whether judicial, revenue, military or what not, just as in England, as
Macaulay tells us, until comparatively recent times, any gentleman, if
he possessed sufficient interest, might aspire to command a man-of-
war, and naval and military commands were more or less
interchangeable. But we have got far beyond that now, and our
Indian Government is a model of efficiency and business-like
working, the officers of some departments being professionally
educated for them, and in others, specially trained for the work.
The state of the public revenue is always some test of the
industrial and fiscal conditions of a country. Beginning with the first
year of the annexation, the income for the five years has steadily and
rapidly risen:—

Rupees.
In 1886-87 the revenue was 2,200,000
1887-88 ” ” 5,010,000
1888-89 ” ” 7,683,450
 1889-90 ” ” 8,638,170
1890-91 ” ” 9,400,000

To the amount for the last year a considerable sum might fairly be
added on account of the earnings of the new line of railway to
Mandalay. Under the Burman king the revenue never exceeded
10,000,000 rupees, and during King Theebaw’s reign it had fallen to
9,000,000, and fully one-third of this amount accrued from
monopolies and imposts on trade and industry, that the British
Government has very properly abolished; so that, although we took
over the country at a very great disadvantage, we have already
raised the revenue, by healthy and legitimate means (excepting the
excise), to an amount equal to what it ever was before. There can be
no doubt that a career of prosperity awaits Upper Burma, and that
the steady increase in the revenue indicates that it has already
entered upon that career. The testimony of the revenue officers is
that it is, as a rule, collected without difficulty, and that the taxation
does not fall at all heavily on the people. The chief item is a kind of
capitation or household tax, averaging 10 rupees per house per year.
This is levied as a lump sum on each village, and the payment is
distributed amongst the families of the village, according to their
means and circumstances, by a committee of village elders—a
method they are accustomed to, and that seems to work well.
The administration of justice is one of the fundamental duties of
Government and one of its chief functions. Our Government
undertook this duty amid special difficulties and drawbacks; for not
only were crime and disorder very general, but there was a great
paucity of officials with the necessary experience of the country and
knowledge of the language, to fill the subordinate grades of the Civil
Service, and to act as magistrates. It must have been no easy task
to administer justice at once over an area as large as France. Great
progress has been made during the five years, and the various
courts of justice have long been in good working order after the
methods of India.
The adaptation of a regular system of criminal law, as laid down in
the Indian Penal Code, with British principles as regards evidence