Distributed second order sliding mode control for networked robots synchronisation: theory and experimental results

Abstract

The paper focuses on synchronisation and trajectory tracking problems. The main goal of the distributed strategy is to produce and maintain a common behaviour using only local information interactions. A combination of a trajectory tracking theory and cross-coupling algorithms has been used to solve synchronisation problems for a group of Lagrangian systems. A robust control law based on a modified high order sliding mode concept is developed. In the control architecture, the increment of the control responsible for the robustness of the proposed approach is not proportional to the sign of the sliding surface, but it is proportional to the integral of a sign function. The Lyapunov-based approach has been used to establish the multi-robot system's asymptotic stability. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed control schemes.