Model‐free prescribed performance fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode control with practical finite‐time stability of uncertain robot manipulators

Abstract This paper addresses the problem of robust and high precision trajectory tracking control of uncertain robot manipulators with prescribed performance. Time delay estimation (TDE) technique is employed to estimate system model, then a new self‐adjusting strategy (SAS) is designed to adjust TDE gain online. Prescribed performance control (PPC) method is used to guarantee transient response speed and steady‐state accuracy. Moreover, the transform function of PPC employed in this paper has unlimited domain, which greatly improves the robustness and stability of system. An improved fixed‐time dynamical system is firstly deduced and analyzed, then a new fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode surface is designed to accelerate convergence rate of tracking errors. Finally, the whole system is strictly proven to be practical finite‐time stable, which means that tracking errors can converge to a small neighborhood of zero within a uniformly bounded convergence time. Main advantages of the proposed approach include model‐free, robust, singularity‐free, faster transient response and higher steady‐state tracking precision. Experimental results carried out on the Rethink Sawyer Robot also verified the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.