A Geometric Approach to Structure-Preserving Integrators for Mechanical Systems

Abstract

We develop a geometric framework for the numerical integration of mechanical systems evolving on manifolds. After briefly reviewing classical numerical methods and highlighting their limitations and shortcomings in non-flat (non-Euclidean) spaces, we include a short interlude reviewing the differential geometric notions required in the sequel. We then introduce retraction maps as intrinsic generalizations of the Riemannian exponential, which induce discretization maps tailored to manifold-valued dynamics. Adopting the Tulczyjew unified viewpoint, mechanical systems are formulated as Lagrangian submanifolds, providing a natural and coordinate-free foundation for the construction of structure-preserving integrators for both Hamiltonian and Lagrangian systems. The framework is specialized to Lie groups, where parallelizability allows for the global trivialization of tangent and cotangent bundles and the systematic derivation of integrators for Euler-Poincare and Lie-Poisson equations. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated through the rigid body and heavy top, and is further extended to the construction of a geometric integrator for an underactuated mechanical system-a quadrotor-demonstrating the applicability of the framework beyond fully symmetric systems and toward problems relevant in robotics and control.