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Article
Publication date: 15 February 2024

Chengguo Liu, Junyang Li, Zeyu Li and Xiutao Chen

The study aims to equip robots with the ability to precisely maintain interaction forces, which is crucial for tasks such as polishing in highly dynamic environments with unknown…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to equip robots with the ability to precisely maintain interaction forces, which is crucial for tasks such as polishing in highly dynamic environments with unknown and varying stiffness and geometry, including those found in airplane wings or thin, soft materials. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel adaptive force-tracking admittance control scheme aimed at achieving a faster response rate with higher tracking accuracy for robot force control.

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed method, the traditional admittance model is improved by introducing a pre-proportional-derivative controller to accelerate parameter convergence. Subsequently, the authors design an adaptive law based on fuzzy logic systems (FLS) to compensate for uncertainties in the unknown environment. Stability conditions are established for the proposed method through Lyapunov analysis, which ensures the force tracking accuracy and the stability of the coupled system consisting of the robot and the interaction environment. Furthermore, the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control algorithm are demonstrated by simulation and experiment.

Findings

A variety of unstructured simulations and experimental scenarios are designed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in force control. The outcomes demonstrate that this control strategy excels in providing fast response, precise tracking accuracy and robust performance.

Practical implications

In real-world applications spanning industrial, service and medical fields where accurate force control by robots is essential, the proposed method stands out as both practical and straightforward, delivering consistently satisfactory performance across various scenarios.

Originality/value

This research introduces a novel adaptive force-tracking admittance controller based on FLS and validated through both simulations and experiments. The proposed controller demonstrates exceptional performance in force control within environments characterized by unknown and varying.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2023

Zhifang Wang, Quanzhen Huang and Jianguo Yu

In this paper, the authors take an amorphous flattened air-ground wireless self-assembling network system as the research object and focus on solving the wireless self-assembling…

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper, the authors take an amorphous flattened air-ground wireless self-assembling network system as the research object and focus on solving the wireless self-assembling network topology instability problem caused by unknown control communication faults during the operation of this system.

Design/methodology/approach

In the paper, the authors propose a neural network-based direct robust adaptive non-fragile fault-tolerant control algorithm suitable for the air-ground integrated wireless ad hoc network integrated system.

Findings

The simulation results show that the system eventually tends to be asymptotically stable, and the estimation error asymptotically tends to zero with the feedback adjustment of the designed controller. The system as a whole has good fault tolerance performance and autonomous learning approximation performance. The experimental results show that the wireless self-assembled network topology has good stability performance and can change flexibly and adaptively with scene changes. The stability performance of the wireless self-assembled network topology is improved by 66.7% at maximum.

Research limitations/implications

The research results may lack generalisability because of the chosen research approach. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

Originality/value

This paper designs a direct, robust, non-fragile adaptive neural network fault-tolerant controller based on the Lyapunov stability principle and neural network learning capability. By directly optimizing the feedback matrix K to approximate the robust fault-tolerant correction factor, the neural network adaptive adjustment factor enables the system as a whole to resist unknown control and communication failures during operation, thus achieving the goal of stable wireless self-assembled network topology.

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2024

Ziyuan Ma, Huajun Gong and Xinhua Wang

The purpose of this paper is to construct an event-triggered finite-time fault-tolerant formation tracking controller, which can achieve a time-varying formation control for…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to construct an event-triggered finite-time fault-tolerant formation tracking controller, which can achieve a time-varying formation control for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during actuator failures and external perturbations.

Design/methodology/approach

First, this study developed the formation tracking protocol for each follower using UAV formation members, defining the tracking inaccuracy of the UAV followers’ location. Subsequently, this study designed the multilayer event-triggered controller based on the backstepping method framework within finite time. Then, considering the actuator failures, and added self-adaptive thought for fault-tolerant control within finite time, the event-triggered closed-loop system is subsequently shown to be a finite-time stable system. Furthermore, the Zeno behavior is analyzed to prevent infinite triggering instances within a finite time. Finally, simulations are conducted with external disturbances and actuator failure conditions to demonstrate formation tracking controller performance.

Findings

It achieves improved performance in the presence of external disturbances and system failures. Combining limited-time adaptive control and event triggering improves system stability, increase robustness to disturbances and calculation efficiency. In addition, the designed formation tracking controller can effectively control the time-varying formation of the leader and followers to complete the task, and by adding a fixed-time observer, it can effectively compensate for external disturbances and improve formation control accuracy.

Originality/value

A formation-following controller is designed, which can handle both external disturbances and internal actuator failures during formation flight, and the proposed method can be applied to a variety of formation control scenarios and does not rely on a specific type of UAV or communication network.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2024

Xin Cai, Xiaozhou Zhu and Wen Yao

Quadrotors have been applied in various fields. However, because the quadrotor is subject to multiple disturbances, consisting of external disturbances, actuator faults and…

Abstract

Purpose

Quadrotors have been applied in various fields. However, because the quadrotor is subject to multiple disturbances, consisting of external disturbances, actuator faults and parameter uncertainties, it is difficult to control the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to achieve high-precision tracking performance. This paper aims to design a safety controller that uses observer and neural network method to improve the tracking performance of UAV under multiple disturbances. The experiments prove that this method is effective.

Design/methodology/approach

First, to actively estimate and compensate the synthetic uncertainties of the system, a finite-time extended state observer is investigated, and the disturbances are transformed into the extended state of the system for estimation. Second, an adaptive neural network controller that does not accurately require the dynamic model knowledge is designed based on the estimated value, where the weights of the neural network can be dynamically adjusted by the adaptive law. Furthermore, the finite-time bounded convergence of the proposed observer and the stability of the system are proved through homogeneous theory and Lyapunov method.

Findings

The figure-“8” climbing flight simulation and real flight experiments illustrate that the proposed safety control strategy has good tracking performance.

Originality/value

This paper proposes the safety control structure of the UAV, which combines the extended state observer with the neural network method. Numerical simulation results and actual flight experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2024

Mingze Wang, Yuhe Yang and Yuliang Bai

This paper aims to present a novel adaptive sliding mode control (ASMC) method based on the predefined performance barrier function for reusable launch vehicle under attitude…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a novel adaptive sliding mode control (ASMC) method based on the predefined performance barrier function for reusable launch vehicle under attitude constraints and mismatched disturbances.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel ASMC based on barrier function is adopted to deal with matched and mismatched disturbances. The upper bounds of the disturbances are not required to be known in advance. Meanwhile, a predefined performance function (PPF) with prescribed convergence time is used to adjust the boundary of the barrier function. The transient performance, including the overshoot, convergence rate and settling time, as well as the steady-state performance of the attitude tracking error are retained in the predetermined region under the barrier function and PPF. The stability of the proposed control method is analyzed via Lyapunov method.

Findings

In contrast to conventional adaptive back-stepping methods, the proposed method is comparatively simple and effective which does not need to disassemble the control system into multiple first-order systems. The proposed barrier function based on PPF can adjust not only the switching gain in an adaptive way but also the convergence time and steady-state error. And the efficiency of the proposed method is illustrated by conducting numerical simulations.

Originality/value

A novel barrier function based ASMC method is proposed to fit in the amplitude of the mismatched and matched disturbances. The transient and steady-state performance of attitude tracking error can be selected as prior control parameters.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2022

Shrabani Sahu and Sasmita Behera

The wind turbine (WT) is a complex system subjected to wind disturbances. Because the aerodynamics is nonlinear, the control is thus challenging. For the variation of wind speed…

Abstract

Purpose

The wind turbine (WT) is a complex system subjected to wind disturbances. Because the aerodynamics is nonlinear, the control is thus challenging. For the variation of wind speed when rated power is delivered at rated wind speed, the power is limited to the rate by the pitching of the blades of the turbine. This paper aims to address pitch control with the WT benchmark model. The possible use of appropriate adaptive controller design that modifies the control action automatically identifying any change in system parameters is explored.

Design/methodology/approach

To deal with pitch control problem when wind speed exceeds the rated wind speed of the WT, six digital self-tuning controller (STC) with different structures such as proportional integral (PI), proportional derivative (PD), Dahlin’s, pole placement, deadbeat and Takahashi has been taken herein. The system model is identified as a second-order autoregressive exogenous (ARX) model by three techniques for comparison: recursive least square method (RLS), RLS with exponential forgetting and RLS with adaptive directional forgetting identification methods. A comparative study of three identification methods, six adaptive controllers with the conventional PI controller and sliding mode controller (SMC), are shown.

Findings

As per the results, the best improvement in control of the output power by pitching in full load region of benchmark model is achieved by self-tuning PD controller based on RLS with adaptive directional forgetting method. The adaptive control design has a future in WT control applications.

Originality/value

A comparative study of identification methods, six adaptive controllers with the conventional PI controller and SMC, are shown here. As per the results, the best improvement in control of the output power by pitching in the full load region of the benchmark model has been achieved by self-tuning PD controller. The best identification method or the system is RLS with an adaptive directional forgetting method. Instead of a step input response design for the controllers, the controller design has been carried out for the stochastic wind and the performance is adjudged by the normalized sum of square tracking error (NSSE) index. The validation of the proposed self-tuning PD controller has been shown in comparison to the conventional controller with Monte-Carlo analysis to handle model parameter alteration and erroneous measurement issues.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2024

Muhammad Nabeel Siddiqui, Xiaolu Zhu, Hanad Rasool, Muhammad Bilal Afzal and Nigar Ahmed

The purpose of this paper is to design an output-feedback algorithm based on low-power observer (LPO), robust chattering-free controller and nonlinear disturbance observer (DO) to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design an output-feedback algorithm based on low-power observer (LPO), robust chattering-free controller and nonlinear disturbance observer (DO) to achieve trajectory tracking of quadrotor in the Cartesian plane.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve trajectory tracking control, firstly the decoupled rotational and translational model of quadrotor are modified by introducing backstepped state-space variables. In the second step, robust integral sliding mode control is designed based on the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) technique. In the third step, a DO is constructed. In next step, the measurable outputs, i.e. rotational and translational state variables, are used to design the LPO. Finally, in the control algorithm all state variables and its rates are replaced with its estimates obtained using the state-observer.

Findings

The finding includes output-feedback control (OFC) algorithm designed by using a LPO. A modified backstepping model for rotational and rotational systems is developed prior to the design of integral sliding mode control based on PID technique. Unlike traditional high-gain observers (HGO), this paper used the LPO for state estimation of quadrotor systems to solve the problem of peaking phenomenon in HGO. Furthermore, a nonlinear DO is designed such that it attenuates disturbance with unknown magnitude and frequency. Moreover, a chattering reduction criterion has been introduced to solve the inherited chattering issue of controllers based on sliding mode technique.

Practical implications

This paper presents input and output data-driven model-free control algorithm. That is, only input and output of the quadrotor model are required to achieve the trajectory tracking control. Therefore, for practical implementation, the number of on-board sensor is reduced.

Originality/value

Although extensive research has been done for designing OFC algorithms for quadrotor, LPO has never been implemented for the rotational and translational state estimations of quadrotor. Furthermore, the mathematical model of rotational and translational systems is modified by using backstepped variables followed by the controller designed using PID and integral sliding mode control technique. Moreover, a DO is developed for attenuation of disturbance with unknown bound, magnitude and frequency.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2022

Luu Anh Khoa Lanh, Van Tu Duong, Huy Hung Nguyen, Sang Bong Kim and Tan Tien Nguyen

Generally, humanoid robots usually suffer significant impact force when walking or running in a non-predefined environment that could easily damage the actuators due to high…

Abstract

Purpose

Generally, humanoid robots usually suffer significant impact force when walking or running in a non-predefined environment that could easily damage the actuators due to high stiffness. In recent years, the utilization of passive compliant series elastic actuators (SEA) for driving humanoid's joints has proved the capability in many aspects so far. However, despite being widely applied in the biped robot research field, the stable control problem for a humanoid powered by the SEAs, especially in the walking process, is still a challenge. This paper proposes a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) combined with the back-stepping algorithm to deal with the parameter uncertainties in a humanoid's lower limb driven by the SEA system. This is an extension of our previous research (Lanh et al., 2021).

Design/methodology/approach

Firstly, a dynamic model of SEA is obtained. Secondly, since there are unknown and uncertain parameters in the SEA model, a Model Reference Adaptive Controller (MRAC) is employed to guarantee the robust performance of the humanoid's lower limb. Finally, an experiment is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed controller and the SEA mechanism.

Findings

This paper proposes an effective control algorithm that can be widely applied for the humanoid-SEA system. Besides, the effect of the coefficients in the control law is analyzed to further improve the response's quality.

Research limitations/implications

Even though the simulation shows good results with stable system response, the practical experiment has not been implemented to fully evaluate the quality of the controller.

Originality/value

The MRAC is applied to control the humanoid's lower limb and the back-stepping process is utilized to combine with an external SEA system but still maintain stabilization. The simplified model of the lower-limb system proposed in the paper is proven to be appropriate and can be taken for further research in the future.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 March 2024

Min Wan, Mou Chen and Mihai Lungu

This paper aims to study a neural network-based fault-tolerant controller to improve the tracking control performance of an unmanned autonomous helicopter with system uncertainty…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study a neural network-based fault-tolerant controller to improve the tracking control performance of an unmanned autonomous helicopter with system uncertainty, external disturbances and sensor faults, using the prescribed performance method.

Design/methodology/approach

To ensure that the tracking error satisfies the prescribed performance, the authors adopt an error transformation function method. A control scheme based on the neural network and high-order disturbance observer is designed to guarantee the boundedness of the closed-loop system. A simulation is performed to prove the validity of the control scheme.

Findings

The developed adaptive fault-tolerant control method makes the system with sensor fault realize tracking control. The error transformation function method can effectively handle the prescribed performance requirements. Sensor fault can be regarded as a type of system uncertainty. The uncertainty can be approximated accurately using neural networks. A high-order disturbance observer can effectively suppress compound disturbances.

Originality/value

The tracking performance requirements of unmanned autonomous helicopter system are considered in the design of sensor fault-tolerant control. The inequality constraint that the output tracking error must satisfy is transformed into an unconstrained problem by introducing an error transformation function. The fault state of the velocity sensor is considered as the system uncertainty, and a neural network is used to approach the total uncertainty. Neural network estimation errors and external disturbances are treated as compound disturbances, and a high-order disturbance observer is constructed to compensate for them.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 96 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 October 2023

Yerui Fan, Yaxiong Wu and Jianbo Yuan

This study aims to improve the muscle model control performance of a tendon-driven musculoskeletal system (TDMS) to overcome disadvantages such as multisegmentation and strong…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to improve the muscle model control performance of a tendon-driven musculoskeletal system (TDMS) to overcome disadvantages such as multisegmentation and strong coupling. An adaptive network controller (ANC) with a disturbance observer is established to reduce the modeling error of the musculoskeletal model and improve its antidisturbance ability.

Design/methodology/approach

In contrast to other control technologies adopted for musculoskeletal humanoids, which use geometric relationships and antagonist inhibition control, this study develops a method comprising of three parts. (1) First, a simplified musculoskeletal model is constructed based on the Taylor expansion, mean value theorem and Lagrange–d’Alembert principle to complete the decoupling of the muscle model. (2) Next, for this simplified musculoskeletal model, an adaptive neuromuscular controller is designed to acquire the muscle-activation signal and realize stable tracking of the endpoint of the muscle-driven robot relative to the desired trajectory in the TDMS. For the ANC, an adaptive neural network controller with a disturbance observer is used to approximate dynamical uncertainties. (3) Using the Lyapunov method, uniform boundedness of the signals in the closed-loop system is proved. In addition, a tracking experiment is performed to validate the effectiveness of the adaptive neuromuscular controller.

Findings

The experimental results reveal that compared with other control technologies, the proposed design techniques can effectively improve control accuracy. Moreover, the proposed controller does not require extensive considerations of the geometric and antagonistic inhibition relationships, and it demonstrates anti-interference ability.

Originality/value

Musculoskeletal robots with humanoid structures have attracted considerable attention from numerous researchers owing to their potential to avoid danger for humans and the environment. The controller based on bio-muscle models has shown great performance in coordinating the redundant internal forces of TDMS. Therefore, adaptive controllers with disturbance observers are designed to improve the immunity of the system and thus directly regulate the internal forces between the bio-muscle models.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 43 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

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