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The main purpose of this work is to develop an output state-dependent controller that solves the path-tracking deviation error for a skid-steering autonomous vehicle. The controller takes advantage of a nonlinear diffeomorphism that transforms skid-steering autonomous vehicle into a multi-input multi-output chain of integrators. This research assumes that available skid-steering autonomous vehicle variables are its position and its orientation. This in fact motivates the development of a modified super-twisting algorithm operating as a sequential step-by-step differentiator that estimates traslational velocity and acceleration of the studied autonomous vehicle in a finite time, which were used as part of the controller implementation. Based on the estimated states by the step-by-step multi-variable differentiator, an adaptive control design enforces the asymptotic convergence of the tracking trajectories for the skid-steering autonomous vehicle to the origin. The explicit form of the controller gains is derived using a class of control Lyapunov function including the deviation corresponding to the tracking error and a term that defines a matrix norm associated with control gains. Numerical results confirm the workability of the proposed controller considering the reduced norm of tracking error obtained with the proposed controller. Experimental evaluations compared the adaptive control introduced in this study and a state-feedback form justifying the control proposal. The adaptive form enforced smaller tracking errors using the estimated states forced by the step-by-step differentiator and the information obtained from a multi-camera video high-frequency acquisition system.

This study has the aim of introducing a new type of trajectory tracking robust controllers for a class of rehabilitation robotic system considering the articulations restrictions. The robotic device consists of a suspended biped configuration. The suggested robust control considers the application of state depending gains which provide finite-time convergence for the tracking deviation. The state restrictions are fulfilled by the implementation of controller gains estimated by a class of the controlled tangent barrier Lyapunov function. Stability analysis for the tracking error yields the explicit design of the state dependent gains. The rate of convergence for the controller design is enhanced using a matrix inequality convex optimization method. Based on the forward complete characteristic of the suggested rehabilitation device, it is allowed using a finite-time convergent super-twisting-based differentiator to concrete an output feedback realization of the proposed controller. A computerized model of the tendered rehabilitation robot provides a reliable testing platform to the suggested roust controller. Numerical evaluations appear to serve as an indirect confirmation for the tracking error convergence, satisfying the articulation restrictions, and the effect of the gain optimization design. For comparison purposes, the regular state feedback control design is considered as benchmark. The faster convergence of the mean square estimation of the tracking error justifies the design of the proposed control design as well as the state feedback structure justifies the origin is a fixed-time stable equilibrium point for the space of tracking error at the same time that state space restrictions remain satisfied. The experimental evaluations of the proposed controller justifies the barrier controller which, in spite of the modeling uncertainties and the implementation issues, tracked the reference trajectories.

This study presents a state non-parametric identifier based on neural networks with continuous dynamics, also known as differential (namely DNNs) whose laws for adjusting their parameters are developed using a control Barrier Lyapunov Functions (BLFs). The motivation for using the BLF comes from the preliminary information of the system states, which remain in a predefined time-depending set characterized by state or purely time-dependent functions. In this study, time-dependent state constraints are supposed to be known in advance of continuous-time functions. The obtained learning laws require solving differential continuous-time Riccati equations and nonlinear differentialequations for the learning laws that depend on the identification error and the state restrictions. The developed identifier was evaluated concerning the identifier that does not consider the state restrictions. This comparison included the numerical evaluation of the identifier considering its application on a robotic arm that is intended to reproduce a non-standard flight simulator. This evaluation confirmed that the identification results were improved using the proposed learning laws considering that the state limits were not transgressed, and the quality indicators based on the mean square error were more minor by 4.2 times.

This study introduces a design of robust finite-time controllers that aims to solve the trajectory tracking of robot manipulators with full-state constraints. The control design is based on the construction of a distributed state constraint non-singular terminal sliding mode (CNTSM). The CNTSM design includes the gain self-adapting tuning method, which can ensure finite-time convergence to the sliding surface aside from the states to its corresponding reference trajectories. The implementation of the time-varying gain ensures the fulfillment of the accurate tracking for the references while the position and velocity constraints are satisfied permanently. A barrier Lyapunov function is proposed to develop the finite-time stability analysis of the designed controllers. The CNTSM realization uses the tracking error as well as its estimated derivative, which is calculated using a variant of adaptive super-twisting algorithm operating as robust differentiator. The proposed CNTSM is numerically evaluated on a two-link RM with uncertain inertia and Coriolis matrices. Simulation and experimental results evidence the efficiency of the CNTSM controller demonstrating a better tracking performance while the full-state constraints are satisfied in counterpart with the classical non-singular terminal sliding mode which is not able to keep such restrictions.

This essay discusses a potential method for predicting the behavior of various physical processes and uses the COVID-19 outbreak to demonstrate its applicability. This study assumes that the current data set reflects the output of a dynamic system that is governed by a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. This dynamic system may be described by a Differential Neural Network (DNN) with time-varying weights matrix parameters. A new hybrid learning scheme based on the decomposition of the signal to be predicted. The decomposition considers the slow and fast components of the signal which is more natural to signals such as the ones corresponding to the number of infected and deceased patients who suffered of COVID 2019 sickness. The paper results demonstrate the recommended method offers competitive performance (70 days of COVID prediction) in comparison to similar studies.

This study presents the development of an output feedback control for regulating the movement of an autonomous submersible vehicles in the tridimensional space. The controller formulation applies the Averaged Sub-Gradient Integral Sliding Mode which is fed with the estimation of the translational velocity states by a distributed super-twisting algorithm. The structure of the autonomous submersible vehicles dynamics permits the implementation of the ASG algorithm using the estimates of translation velocity. The proposed scheme solves a non-linear extremum seeking problem that aims to minimize a non-strictly convex function that depends on the tracking error defined by the difference of some suitable reference trajectories and the coordinates of the submarine center of mass. The desired reference trajectories were designed to force the autonomous submersible vehicles three-dimensional motion to a continuous circuit in an oscillating shape over the horizontal plane combined with a submersion on the z-axis. The comparison between the proposed controller, the ASG with complete knowledge of the states and the state feedback controller is presented. This comparison confirms the output feedback ASG controller forced the autonomous submersible vehicles to the desired trajectory with a notable difference in the magnitude of the control given the estimation of the states. These outcomes justify the potential contributions of the suggested ASG integrated with the super-twisting algorithm to obtain the local minimization of the evaluated functional depending on the tracking error. The results justify the potential contributions of the suggested ASG with the super-twisting algorithm to regulate the position of the autonomous submersible vehicles to the desired trajectory.

PurposeThere are common problems in the identification of uncertain nonlinear systems, nonparametric approximation, state estimation, and automatic control. Dynamic neural network (DNN) approximation can simplify the development of all the aforementioned problems in either continuous or discrete systems. A DNN is represented by a system of differential or recurrent equations defined in the space of vector activation functions with weights and offsets that are functionally associated with the input data.Design/methodology/approachThis study describes the version of the toolbox, that can be used to identify the dynamics of the black box and restore the laws underlying the system using known inputs and outputs. Depending on the completeness of the information, the toolbox allows users to change the DNN structure to suit specific tasks.FindingsThe toolbox consists of three main components: user layer, network manager, and network instance. The user layer provides high-level control and monitoring of system performance. The network manager serves as an intermediary between the user layer and the network instance, and allows the user layer to start and stop learning, providing an interface to indirectly access the internal data of the DNN.Research limitations/implicationsControl capability is limited to adjusting a small number of numerical parameters and selecting functional parameters from a predefined list.Originality/valueThe key feature of the toolbox is the possibility of developing an algorithmic semi-automatic selection of activation function parameters based on optimization problem solutions.