Finite-Time Discontinuous Control of Nonholonomic Chained-Form Systems

A finite-time discontinuous control method is proposed for controlling nonholonomic chained-form systems. Through a general discontinuous coordinate transformation, the nonholonomic system is transformed into two decoupled subsystems that are independently stabilized with control laws. Sufficient conditions for the existence of decoupled subsystems and finite-time convergence of system states are given. Furthermore, the finite-time discontinuous control laws are proposed to ensure that the system states reach the equilibrium in a finite time. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach.