Fuzzy Saturated Output Feedback Tracking Control for Robot Manipulators: A Singular Perturbation Theory Based Approach

To deal with the problem of the output feedback tracking (OFT) control with bounded torque inputs of robot manipulators, we propose a generalized fuzzy saturated OFT controller based on singular perturbation theory. First, considering the fact that the output toque of joint actuators is limited, a general expression for a class of saturation functions is given to be applied in the control law. Second, to carry out the whole closed‐loop control with only position measurements, linear and nonlinear filters are optionally involved to generate a pseudo signal to surrogate the actual velocity tracking error. As a third contribution, a fuzzy regulator is added to obtain a self‐tuning performance in tackling the disturbances. Moreover, an explicit but strict stability proof of the system based on the stability theory of singularly perturbed systems is presented. Finally, numerical simulations on several sample controllers are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.