Tracking control of robots using computed torque based sliding mode controller

Tracking control of robots in joint space is studied in this paper. A control scheme is proposed for robust trajectory tracking of manipulators based on the computed torque method and the sliding control theory. The nonlinear dynamic equations of a robot are linearized by the computed torque method. A switching control law is then applied to compensate the parameter uncertainties and bounded disturbances to achieve accurate tracking. The chattering of the control torque is avoided using the proposed switching control scheme. The results show that the proposed method is able to achieve good tracking performance.