Path-Tracking Controller for Tracked Mobile Robot on Rough Terrain

Automation technologies for agriculture field are needed to promote labor-saving. One of the most relevant problems in automated agriculture is represented by controlling the robot along a predetermined path in presence of rough terrain or incline ground. Unfortunately, disturbances originating from interaction with the ground, such as slipping, make it quite difficult to achieve the required accuracy. In general, it is required to move within 5-10 cm accuracy with respect to the predetermined path. Moreover, lateral velocity caused by gravity on the incline field also affects slipping. In this paper, a path-tracking controller for tracked mobile robots moving on rough terrains of incline field such as vineyard is presented. The controller is composed of a disturbance observer and an adaptive controller based on the kinematic model of the robot. The disturbance observer measures the difference between the measured and the reference yaw rate and linear velocity in order to estimate slip. Then, the adaptive controller adapts “virtual” parameter of the kinematics model: Instantaneous Centers of Rotation (ICRs). Finally, target angular velocity reference is computed according to the adapted parameter. This solution allows estimating the effects of slip without making the model too complex. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed solution is tested in a simulation environment.

Parking Space Detection and Trajectory Tracking Control for Vehicle Auto-Parking

On-board available parking space detecting system, parking trajectory planning and tracking control mechanism are the key components of vehicle backward auto-parking system. Firstly, pair of ultrasonic sensors is installed on each side of vehicle body surface to detect the relative distance between ego-car and surrounding obstacle. The dimension of a found empty space can be calculated based on vehicle speed and the time history of ultrasonic sensor detecting information. This result can be used for constructing the 2D vehicle environmental map and available parking type judgment. Finally, the auto-parking controller executes the on-line optimal parking trajectory planning based on this 2D environmental map, and monitors the real-time vehicle parking trajectory tracking control. This low cost auto-parking system was tested on a model car.

Sampled-Data Model Predictive Tracking Control for Mobile Robot

In this paper, a sampled-data model predictive tracking control method is presented for mobile robots which is modeled as constrained continuous-time linear parameter varying (LPV) systems. The presented sampled-data predictive controller is designed by linear matrix inequality approach. Based on the input delay approach, a controller design condition is derived by constructing a new Lyapunov function. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method.

Lyapunov-Based Tracking Control for Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robot

This paper presents a tracking control strategy based on Lyapunov approach for nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot. This control strategy consists of two levels. First, a kinematic controller is developed to adjust the right and left wheel velocities. Using this velocity control law, the stability of the tracking error is guaranteed using Lyapunov approach. This kinematic controller cannot be generated directly by the motors. To overcome this problem, the second level of the controllers, dynamic control, is designed. This dynamic control law is developed based on Lyapunov theory in order to track the desired trajectories of the mobile robot. The stability of the tracking error is proved using Lupunov and Barbalat approaches. Simulation results on a nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot are given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the presented approach.

Trajectory Tracking of a Redundant Hybrid Manipulator Using a Switching Control Method

This paper presents the trajectory tracking control of a spatial redundant hybrid manipulator. This manipulator consists of two parallel manipulators which are a variable geometry truss (VGT) module. In fact, each VGT module with 3-degress of freedom (DOF) is a planar parallel manipulator and their operational planes of these VGT modules are arranged to be orthogonal to each other. Also, the manipulator contains a twist motion part attached to the top of the second VGT module to supply the missing orientation of the endeffector. These three modules constitute totally 7-DOF hybrid (parallel-parallel) redundant spatial manipulator. The forward kinematics equations of this manipulator are obtained, then, according to these equations, the inverse kinematics is solved based on an optimization with the joint limit avoidance. The dynamic equations are formed by using virtual work method. In order to test the performance of the redundant manipulator and the controllers presented, two different desired trajectories are followed by using the computed force control method and a switching control method. The switching control method is combined with the computed force control method and genetic algorithm. In the switching control method, the genetic algorithm is only used for fine tuning in the compensation of the trajectory tracking errors.

Active Islanding Detection Method Using Intelligent Controller

An active islanding detection method using disturbance signal injection with intelligent controller is proposed in this study. First, a DC\AC power inverter is emulated in the distributed generator (DG) system to implement the tracking control of active power, reactive power outputs and the islanding detection. The proposed active islanding detection method is based on injecting a disturbance signal into the power inverter system through the d-axis current which leads to a frequency deviation at the terminal of the RLC load when the utility power is disconnected. Moreover, in order to improve the transient and steady-state responses of the active power and reactive power outputs of the power inverter, and to further improve the performance of the islanding detection method, two probabilistic fuzzy neural networks (PFNN) are adopted to replace the traditional proportional-integral (PI) controllers for the tracking control and the islanding detection. Furthermore, the network structure and the online learning algorithm of the PFNN are introduced in detail. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the tracking control and the proposed active islanding detection method are verified with experimental results.

Disturbance Observer for Lateral Trajectory Tracking Control for Autonomous and Cooperative Driving

In this contribution a structure for high level lateral vehicle tracking control based on the disturbance observer is presented. The structure is characterized by stationary compensating side forces disturbances and guaranteeing a cooperative behavior at the same time. Driver inputs are not compensated by the disturbance observer. Moreover the structure is especially useful as it robustly stabilizes the vehicle. Therefore the parameters are selected using the Parameter Space Approach. The implemented algorithms are tested in real world scenarios.

Discrete Tracking Control of Nonholonomic Mobile Robots: Backstepping Design Approach

In this paper we propose a discrete tracking control of nonholonomic mobile robots with two degrees of freedom. The electromechanical model of a mobile robot moving on a horizontal surface without slipping, with two rear wheels controlled by two independent DC electric, and one front roal wheel is considered. We present backstepping design based on the Euler approximate discretetime model of a continuous-time plant. Theoretical considerations are verified by numerical simulation.

A Model-Reference Sliding Mode for Dual-Stage Actuator Servo Control in HDD

This paper presents a method of sliding mode control (SMC) designing and developing for the servo system in a dual-stage actuator (DSA) hard disk drive. Mathematical modeling of hard disk drive actuators is obtained, extracted from measuring frequency response of the voice-coil motor (VCM) and PZT micro-actuator separately. Matlab software tools are used for mathematical model estimation and also for controller design and simulation. A model-reference approach for tracking requirement is selected as a proposed technique. The simulation results show that performance of a model-reference SMC controller design in DSA servo control can be satisfied in the tracking error, as well as keeping the positioning of the head within the boundary of +/-5% of track width under the presence of internal and external disturbance. The overall results of model-reference SMC design in DSA are met per requirement specifications and significant reduction in %off track is found when compared to the single-state actuator (SSA).

Design of Adaptive Sliding Mode Controller for Robotic Manipulators Tracking Control

This paper proposes an adaptive sliding mode controller which combines adaptive control and sliding mode control to control a nonlinear robotic manipulator with uncertain parameters. We use an adaptive algorithm based on the concept of sliding mode control to alleviate the chattering phenomenon of control input. Adaptive laws are developed to obtain the gain of switching input and the boundary layer parameters. The stability and convergence of the robotic manipulator control system are guaranteed by applying the Lyapunov theorem. Simulation results demonstrate that the chattering of control input can be alleviated effectively. The proposed controller scheme can assure robustness against a large class of uncertainties and achieve good trajectory tracking performance.

GPI Observer-based Tracking Control and Synchronization of Chaotic Systems

Based on general proportional integral (GPI) observers and sliding mode control technique, a robust control method is proposed for the master-slave synchronization of chaotic systems in the presence of parameter uncertainty and with partially measurable output signal. By using GPI observer, the master dynamics are reconstructed by the observations from a measurable output under the differential algebraic framework. Driven by the signals provided by GPI observer, a sliding mode control technique is used for the tracking control and synchronization of the master-slave dynamics. The convincing numerical results reveal the proposed method is effective, and successfully accommodate the system uncertainties, disturbances, and noisy corruptions.

On Enhancing Robustness of an Evolutionary Fuzzy Tracking Controller

This paper presents three-phase evolution search methodology to automatically design fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs) that can work in a wide range of operating conditions. These include varying load, parameter variations, and unknown external disturbances. The three-phase scheme consists of an exploration phase, an exploitation phase and a robustness phase. The first two phases search for FLC with high accuracy performances while the last phase aims at obtaining FLC providing the best compromise between the accuracy and robustness performances. Simulations were performed for direct-drive two-axis robot arm. The evolved FLC with the proposed design technique found to provide a very satisfactory performance under the wide range of operation conditions and to overcome problem associated with coupling and nonlinearities characteristics inherent to robot arms.

Planar Tracking Control of an Underactuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

This paper addresses the problem of trajectory tracking control of an underactuated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the horizontal plane. The underwater vehicle under consideration is not actuated in the sway direction, and the system matrices are not assumed to be diagonal and linear, as often found in the literature. In addition, the effect of constant bias of environmental disturbances is considered. Using backstepping techniques and the tracking error dynamics, the system states are stabilized by forcing the tracking errors to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of zero. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is demonstrated through numerical simulations. Simulations are carried out for an experimental vehicle for smooth, inertial, two dimensional (2D) reference trajectories such as constant velocity trajectory (a circle maneuver – constant yaw rate), and time varying velocity trajectory (a sinusoidal path – sinusoidal yaw rate).

Tracking Control of a Linear Parabolic PDE with In-domain Point Actuators

This paper addresses the problem of asymptotic tracking control of a linear parabolic partial differential equation with indomain point actuation. As the considered model is a non-standard partial differential equation, we firstly developed a map that allows transforming this problem into a standard boundary control problem to which existing infinite-dimensional system control methods can be applied. Then, a combination of energy multiplier and differential flatness methods is used to design an asymptotic tracking controller. This control scheme consists of stabilizing state-feedback derived from the energy multiplier method and feed-forward control based on the flatness property of the system. This approach represents a systematic procedure to design tracking control laws for a class of partial differential equations with in-domain point actuation. The applicability and system performance are assessed by simulation studies.

Trajectory Control of a Robotic Manipulator Utilizing an Adaptive Fuzzy Sliding Mode

In this paper, a novel adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control method is proposed for the robust tracking control of robotic manipulators. The proposed controller possesses the advantages of adaptive control, fuzzy control, and sliding mode control. First, system stability and robustness are guaranteed based on the sliding mode control. Further, fuzzy rules are developed incorporating with adaptation law to alleviate the input chattering effectively. Stability of the control system is proven by using the Lyapunov method. An application to a three-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator is carried out. Accurate trajectory tracking as well as robustness is achieved. Input chattering is greatly eliminated.

Integral Tracking Control for a Piezoelectric Actuator System

We propose an integral tracking control method for a piezoelectric actuator system. The proposed method achieves the output tracking without requiring any hysteresis observer or schemes to compensate the hysteresis effect. With the proposed control law, the system is converted into the standard singularly perturbed model. Using Tikhonov-s theorem, we guarantee that the tracking error can be reduced to arbitrarily small bound. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.

Design of Tracking Controllers for Medical Equipment Holders Using AHRS and MEMS Sensors

There are various kinds of medical equipment which requires relatively accurate positional adjustments for successful treatment. However, patients tend to move without notice during a certain span of operations. Therefore, it is common practice that accompanying operators adjust the focus of the equipment. In this paper, tracking controllers for medical equipment are suggested to replace the operators. The tracking controllers use AHRS sensor information to recognize the movements of patients. Sensor fusion is applied to reducing the error magnitudes through linear Kalman filters. The image processing of optical markers is included to adjust the accumulation errors of gyroscope sensor data especially for yaw angles. The tracking controller reduces the positional errors between the current focus of a device and the target position on the body of a patient. Since the sensing frequencies of AHRS sensors are very high compared to the physical movements, the control performance is satisfactory. The typical applications are, for example, ESWT or rTMS, which have the error ranges of a few centimeters.

Collaborative Tracking Control of UAV-UGV

This paper suggests a fast and stable Target Tracking system in collaborative control of UAV and UGV. Wi-Fi communication range is limited in collaborative control of UAV and UGV. Thus, to secure a stable communications, UAV and UGV have to be kept within a certain distance from each other. But existing method which uses UAV Vertical Camera to follow the motion of UGV is likely to lose a target with a sudden movement change. Eventually, UGV has disadvantages that it could only move at a low speed and not make any sudden change of direction in order to keep track of the target. Therefore, we suggest utilizing AR Drone UAV front camera to track fast-moving and Omnidirectional Mecanum Wheel UGV.

A Sensorless Robust Tracking Control of an Implantable Rotary Blood Pump for Heart Failure Patients

Physiological control of a left ventricle assist device (LVAD) is generally a complicated task due to diverse operating environments and patient variability. In this work, a tracking control algorithm based on sliding mode and feed forward control for a class of discrete-time single input single output (SISO) nonlinear uncertain systems is presented. The controller was developed to track the reference trajectory to a set operating point without inducing suction in the ventricle. The controller regulates the estimated mean pulsatile flow Qp and mean pulsatility index of pump rotational speed PIω that was generated from a model of the assist device. We recall the principle of the sliding mode control theory then we combine the feed-forward control design with the sliding mode control technique to follow the reference trajectory. The uncertainty is replaced by its upper and lower boundary. The controller was tested in a computer simulation covering two scenarios (preload and ventricular contractility). The simulation results prove the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed controller

A WIP Control Based On an Intelligent Controller

In this study, a robust intelligent backstepping tracking control (RIBTC) system combined with adaptive output recurrent cerebellar model articulation control (AORCMAC) and H∞ control technique is proposed for wheeled inverted pendulums (WIPs) real-time control with exact system dynamics unknown. Moreover, a robust H∞ controller is designed to attenuate the effect of the residual approximation errors and external disturbances with desired attenuation level. The experimental results indicate that the WIPs can stand upright stably when using the proposed RIBTC.