Adaptive robust control with slipping parameters estimation based on intelligent learning for wheeled mobile robot

Abstract

The widespread use of wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) in many fields has created new challenges. A critical issue is wheel slip, which, if not accurately determined and controlled, causes instability and deviation from the robot’s path. In this paper, an intelligent approach for estimating the longitudinal and lateral slip of wheels is proposed that can effectively compensate for the negative effects of slippage. The proposed algorithm relies on three regression networks to estimate the longitudinal slip ratio of the right and left wheels and sideslip angle on terrains with different friction coefficients. The datasets collected during tests on different surfaces with various maneuvers are used to train the artificial neural networks (ANNs). A developed dynamic model of a WMR considering wheel slip and modified traction force is presented. The adaptive robust controller, based on sliding mode control (SMC), is introduced to deal with the problems related to slipping, unknown uncertainties, and disturbances. The simulation results demonstrate that the presented controller has better performance than SMC in handling external disturbances and uncertainties, which leads to reduction in tracking error and faster convergence to zero. The proposed controller with an intelligent slip estimator, has been applied to a four-wheel mobile robot to demonstrate its effectiveness and feasibility. The high accuracy of slip estimation in the mentioned intelligent algorithm has resulted in the presented method being on average 26% more effective in reducing the tracking error than the control method without slip compensation in each test for circular trajectory.