Variable structure control for a wheeled mobile robot

This paper is concerned with a robust control for wheeled mobile robots. Mobile robots equipped with undeformable wheels are referred to as 'wheeled mobile robots' and constitute a typical example of non-holonomic systems, where the standard control algorithms developed for robotic manipulators without constraints are no longer applicable. It is shown using the formulation of a dynamic feedback linearization (DFL) methodology that a robust sliding mode controller is an efficient design tool to take into account stabilization and tracking control problems. Compared with previous studies based on DFL, the proposed method shows improvement of the trajectory tracking and stabilization process. The robustness is guaranteed in the presence of parameter uncertainty or unmodeled dynamics by the robust sliding mode control technique. Simulation results along with the conclusions drawn are discussed.