Output feeback tracking control of uncertain robot manipulators via higher-order sliding mode observer and fuzzy compensator

This paper develops a new method to control uncertain robot manipulators by using only position measurements. The controller is designed based on a combination of a computed torque controller (CTC) with a higher-order sliding-mode observer and a fuzzy compensator. First, three higher-order sliding-mode (SM) observers (second-order SM, third-order SM and third-order SM linear (TOSML) observers) are designed and compared to verify whether the TOSML observer is the best for observing velocity and identifying uncertainty. A combined CTC-TOSML controller was then designed. Although this controller scheme can overcome the drawbacks of conventional CTCs, its tracking performance can still be improved. To enhance capability of the tracking performance, a CTC-TOSML controller plus fuzzy compensator called a CTC-TOSML-Fuzzy controller is proposed. The proposed controller increases the potential of the CTC for real robot applications. Finally, computer simulation results on a PUMA560 robot are discussed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.