∞ function-based robust sliding mode control for remotely operated vehicles: Theory, simulations, and experiments

The chattering and model uncertainty are two main challenges for the application of sliding mode control (SMC). To address these issues, a novel class infinity function-based SMC combined with disturbance observer is proposed for the control of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). First, a novel class infinity function-based SMC is proposed, ensuring the global uniform ultimate boundedness (GUUB) of ROV without model parameters. Then, to improve performance under strong external disturbances, a disturbance observer is designed to estimate and compensate for system unknows, with a rigorous stability analysis of the controller-observer structure. At last, the proposed method is extended to operate without acceleration measurement. Simulations and experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.