AbstractIn this article, a method is proposed whereby both contact force exerted by a flexible manipulator and position of end‐effector while in contact with a surface are controlled. We approximate elastic deformations by means of B‐spline functions and derive dynamic equations of joint angles, vibration of the flexible link, and constraint force. A controller for the hybrid position/force control of the flexible manipulator is designed on the basis of the singular perturbation method. Simulation results confirm that the controller performs remarkably well. © 3994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.