Fixed-time generalized super-twisting control for path tracking of autonomous agricultural vehicles considering wheel slipping

Abstract

Efficient path tracking control for autonomous agricultural vehicles (AAVs) is the key technology for realizing agriculture 4.0 and precision agriculture, which makes smart farms more sustainable, profitable, and eco-friendly. It is well recognized that model nonlinearity, unknown disturbances, and wheel slipping are common problems in practical AAV systems in operation. To tackle these issues and improve the path tracking performance, a novel fixed-time generalized super-twisting control scheme is proposed for AAVs in this paper. First, a fixed-time integral sliding mode surface is designed for the considered vehicle by fusing the lateral offset and heading offset together. Then, an innovative auxiliary system dynamics is constructed to collaborate with the foregoing sliding mode surface, compensating for the adverse effects of wheel slipping effectively. Subsequently, based on the kinematic offset model of AAVs, a new type of generalized super-twisting controller is designed to achieve superior path tracking with robustness. Unlike existing super-twisting controllers, the generalized super-twisting continuous controller can fully eliminate chattering by replacing the previous discontinuous terms with a nonsmooth term. Further, rigorous theoretical analysis is conducted by raising a fresh Lyapunov function to verify the closed-loop control system stability. Finally, extensive field experiments have been carried out to show that the proposed control scheme significantly outperforms typical comparative control schemes.