Output-feedback adaptive control for the global regulation of robot manipulators with bounded inputs

In this paper, an output-feedback adaptive scheme for the global position stabilization of robot manipulators with bounded inputs is proposed. Compared to the previous output-feedback adaptive approaches developed in a bounded-input context, the proposed free-of-velocity feedback controller guarantees the adaptive regulation objective: globally, avoiding discontinuities throughout the scheme, preventing the inputs to reach their natural saturation bounds, and imposing no saturation-avoidance restriction on the control gains. Moreover, the developed scheme is not restricted to the use of a specific saturation function to achieve the required boundedness, but may involve any one within a set of smooth and non-smooth (Lipschitz-continuous) bounded passive functions that include the hyperbolic tangent and the conventional saturation as particular cases. Experimental results corroborate the efficiency of the proposed scheme.