A hybrid fuzzy-sliding mode controller for a mobile robot

This paper deals with the autonomous navigation problem. Its objective is the driving of a mobile robot to the goal position without colliding with obstacles. Therefore, a new hybrid approach based on the combination of fuzzy logic systems with sliding mode method is proposed. More specifically, fuzzy logic is a reactive decision making method and it is devoted to bring the robot towards the target, whereas sliding mode is used to ensure the obstacle avoidance behaviour. The robot should follow accurately a limit cycle trajectory using a sliding mode controller. This limit cycle trajectory allows the generation of a smooth trajectory in the vicinity of obstacles. Through simulation results, we can conclude that the robot is able to generate suitable trajectories in different environments, which demonstrates the efficiency and the reliability of the proposed approach.