A smart higher order sliding mode control of rigid articulated robotic manipulator with passive joints

Abstract

Robotic manipulators find their utility in many space applications. However, handling actuator failure in such systems is a challenging task. The system can also be deliberately designed to be underactuated to reduce the cost, weight and power consumption. Higher order sliding mode control is a good control philosophy to control such underactuated and uncertain systems. The present work showcases a strategy of choosing zero error sliding function and locking passive joints for tracking control of end effector in an underactuated manipulator by designing the third order sliding mode control. In the end, simulation examples are shown to establish the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.