A simple non

This article presents an improved robust tracking control for uncertain robot manipulators. An approximate terminal sliding mode control is proposed by integrating a terminal sliding surface with a novel nonlinear function. Lyapunov stability theory is employed to prove the global approximate finite-time stability ensuring that the tracking errors can globally converge to an arbitrary small ball centred at the origin within a finite time and thereafter arrive at the origin asymptotically. The benefits of this integrated design are that it can ensure fast transient and high steady-state tracking precision. Extensive simulations and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and improved performance of the proposed approach