Sliding mode-based adaptive tube model predictive control for robotic manipulators with model uncertainty and state constraints

In this paper, the optimal tracking control for robotic manipulators with state constraints and uncertain dynamics is investigated, and a sliding mode-based adaptive tube model predictive control method is proposed. First, utilizing the high-order fully actuated system approach, the nominal model of the robotic manipulator is constructed as the predictive model. Based on the nominal model, a nominal model predictive controller with the sliding mode is designed, which relaxes the terminal constraints, and realizes the accurate and stable tracking of the desired trajectory by the nominal system. Then, an auxiliary controller based on the node-adaptive neural networks is constructed to dynamically compensate nonlinear uncertain dynamics of the robotic manipulator. Furthermore, the estimation deviation between the nominal and actual states is limited to the tube invariant sets. At the same time, the recursive feasibility of nominal model predictive control is verified, and the ultimately uniformly boundedness of all variables is proved according to the Lyapunov theorem. Finally, experiments show that the robotic manipulator can achieve fast and efficient trajectory tracking under the action of the proposed method.