End effector tracking control of robot manipulators subject to dynamical uncertainties is the main objective of this article. Direct task space control that aims minimizing the end effector tracking error directly is preferred. In the open loop error system, the vector that depends on uncertain dynamical terms is modeled via a fuzzy logic network and a self-adjusting adaptive fuzzy logic component is designed as part of the nonlinear proportional derivative based control input torque. The stability of the closed-loop system is investigated via Lyapunov based arguments and practical tracking is proven. The viability of the proposed control strategy is shown with experimental results. Extensions to uncertain Jacobian case and kinematically redundant robots are also presented.

In this study, task space tracking control of robot manipulators driven by brushless DC (BLDC) motors is considered. Dynamics of actuators are taken into account and the entire electromechanical system (i.e. kinematic, dynamic, and electrical models) is assumed to include parametric/structured uncertainties. A novel adaptive controller is designed and the stability of the closed loop system is ensured via novel Lyapunov type tools. To demonstrate performance and applicability of the proposed method, a simulation study is conducted using the model of a two degree of freedom, planar robotic manipulator driven by BLDC motors.

This article aims to develop a robust prescribed time controller for precise trajectory tracking for uncertain Euler–Lagrange systems with unknown time-varying disturbances without prior knowledge of their upper bounds. The control strategy involves utilizing a scaled transformation function to map the standard error system to a scaled error system. The presented controller is developed based on the scaled error system, incorporating state-dependent control gains and yielding a model-free controller structure. Distinguishing from previous methods, the designed controller takes a different approach by avoiding the direct multiplication of feedback terms with the estimated inertia matrix. The developed strategy mitigates the adverse effects of mismatches between the actual and estimated inertia matrices. A novel Lyapunov-based stability analysis is employed to establish fixed-time input-to-state stability within the prescribed time and to ensure the convergence of error signals to the origin. Experimental validation on a three-degree-of-freedom planar robot arm confirms the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

This article aims to design a joint space tracking controller for robotic manipulators having uncertainties in their mathematical representations under the additional constraint that joint velocity sensing not being available. A two-part design is followed where in the first part, the modeling uncertainties are dealt with a self-organized adaptive fuzzy-logic (AFL)-based controller where full-state feedback (FSFB) is assumed. The stability analysis yields semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded tracking results. In the second part, a high-gain joint velocity observer is designed followed by replacing error vectors in the FSFB controller with their saturated versions obtained from the observer design to arrive at a self-organized AFL-based robust output-feedback controller. The stability analysis is performed via a multiple-step Lyapunov-type method where the semiglobal uniform ultimate boundedness of the tracking error is ensured. Comparative experiment results obtained from a planar robotic manipulator are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control methodology.