Robust tracking control for quadrotor with unknown nonlinear dynamics using adaptive neural network based fractional-order backstepping control

This work aims to design a neural network-based fractional-order backstepping controller (NNFOBC) to control a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (QUAV) system under uncertainties and disturbances and unknown dynamics. First, we investigated the dynamic of QUAV composed of six inter-connected nonlinear subsystems. Then, to increase the convergence speed and control precision of the classical backstepping controller (BC), we design a fractional-order BC (FOBC) that provides further degrees of freedom in the control parameters for every subsystem. Besides, designing control is a challenge as the FOBC requires knowledge of accurate mathematical model and the physical parameters of QUAV system. To address this problem, we propose an adaptive approximator that is a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) included in FOBC to fix the unknown dynamics problem which results in the new approach NNFOBC. Furthermore, a robust control term is introduced to increase the tracking performance of a reference signal as parametric uncertainties and disturbances occur. We have used Lyapunov's theorem to derive adaptive laws of control parameters. Finally, the outcoming results confirm that the performance of the proposed NNFOBC controller outperforms both the classical BC , FOBC and a neural network-based classical BC controller (NNBC) and under parametric uncertainties and disturbances.     

Adaptive fault-tolerant attitude control for hypersonic reentry vehicle subject to complex uncertainties

In this paper, a novel fast attitude adaptive fault-tolerant control (FTC) scheme based on adaptive neural network and command filter is presented for the hypersonic reentry vehicles (HRV) with complex uncertainties which contain parameter uncertainties, un-modeled dynamics, actuator faults, and external disturbances. To improve the performance of closed-loop FTC, command filter and neural network are introduced to reconstruct system nonlinearities that are related to complex uncertainties. Compared with the FTC scheme with only neural network, the FTC scheme with command filter and neural network has fewer controller design parameters so that the computational complexity is decreased and the control efficiency is improved, which is of great significance for HRV. Then, the adaptive backstepping fault-tolerant controller based on command filter and neural network is designed, which can solve the complexity explosion problem in the standard backstepping control and the small uncertainty problem in the backstepping control only containing command filter. Moreover, to improve the approximation accuracy of the neural network-based universal approximator, an adaptive update law of neural network weights is designed by using the convex optimization technique. It is proved that the presented FTC scheme can ensure that the closed-loop control system is stable and the tracking errors are convergent. Finally, simulation results are carried out to verify the superiority and effectiveness of the presented FTC scheme.     

Finite-time performance guaranteed event-triggered adaptive control for nonlinear systems with unknown control direction

This paper studies the issue of finite-time performance guaranteed event-triggered (ET) adaptive neural tracking control for strict-feedback nonlinear systems with unknown control direction. A novel finite-time performance function is first constructed to describe the prescribed tracking performance, and then a new lemma is given to show the differentiability and boundedness of the performance function, which is important for the verification of the closed-loop system stability. Furthermore, with the help of the error transformation technique, the origin constrained tracking error is transformed into an equivalent unconstrained one. By utilizing the first-order sliding mode differentiator, the issue of “explosion of complexity” caused by the backstepping design is adequately addressed. Subsequently, an ingenious adaptive updated law is given to co-design the controller and the ET mechanism by the combination of the Nussbaum-type function, thus effectively handling the influences of the measurement error resulted from the ET mechanism and the challenge of the controller design caused by the unknown control direction. The presented event-triggered control scheme can not only guarantee the prescribed tracking performance, but also alleviate the communication burden simultaneously. Finally, numerical and practical examples are provided to demonstrate the validity of the proposed control strategy.     

An adaptive fast super-twisting disturbance observer-based dual closed-loop attitude control with fixed-time convergence for UAV

In this paper, a fixed-time dual closed-loop attitude control method is investigated for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle. Firstly, a fixed-time adaptive fast super-twisting disturbance observer is presented for estimating the unknown external disturbance. A modified adaptive law is employed based on an equivalent control method to obtain proper observer gains. Secondly, a fixed-time controller is designed by using a universal barrier Lyapunov function to satisfy asymmetric tracking error constraints. Then, a tracking differentiator is utilised to arrange the transition process. Finally, the implementation of the developed method in a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle is performed. Through stability analysis and simulation results, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed fixed-time control method are validated.     

Fixed-time neuroadaptive practical tracking control based on extended state/disturbance observer for a QUAV with external disturbances and time-varying parameters

This paper investigates the fixed-time neural network adaptive (FNNA) tracking control of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (QUAV) to achieve flight safety and high efficiency. By combining radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) with fixed time adaptive sliding mode algorithm, a novel radial basis function neural network adaptive law is proposed. In addition, an extended state/disturbance observer (ESDO) is proposed to solve the problem of unmeasurable state and external interference, which can obtain reliable state feedback and interference input. Unlike most other ESO applications, this paper does not set the uncertainty model and external disturbances as total disturbances. Instead, the external disturbances are observed by extending the states and the observed states are fed back to the controller to cancel the disturbances. In view of the time-varying resistance coefficient and inertia torque in the QUAV model, the neural network is introduced so that the controller does not need to consider these nonlinear uncertainties. Finally, a numerical example is given to verify the effectiveness of the coupled non-simplified QUAV model.     

Adaptive dynamic surface tracking control for uncertain full-state constrained nonlinear systems with disturbance compensation

In this paper, an asymptotic adaptive dynamic surface tracking control strategy is investigated for uncertain full-state constrained nonlinear systems subject to parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. A novel disturbance estimator (DE) is firstly used to compensate for external disturbances. The parametric uncertainties are accordingly handled via a synthesized adaptive law. Then, by using the barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) and dynamic surface control (DSC), an appropriate backstepping design framework employing a novel adaptive-gain nonlinear filter is given, which avoids the “explosion of complexity” and relieves the conservatism of filter gain selection. The theoretical analysis reveals the asymptotic tracking performance is assured with the proposed controller. In the end, some simulation cases demonstrate the validity of the proposed controller.     

Adaptive dynamic programing design for the neural control of hypersonic flight vehicles

An adaptive dynamic programming controller based on backstepping method is designed for the optimal tracking control of hypersonic flight vehicles. The control input is divided into two parts namely stable control and optimal control. First, the back-stepping method is exploited via neural networks (NNs) to estimate unknown functions. Then, the computational load is reduced by the minimal-learning-parameter (MLP) scheme. To avoid the problem of “explosion of terms”, a first-order filter is adopted. Next, the optimal controller is designed based on the adaptive dynamic programming. In order to solve the Hamiltonian equation, NNs estimators are introduced to approximate performance indicators, achieving the approximate optimal control of hypersonic flight vehicles. Finally, the effectiveness and advantages of the control method are verified by simulation results.     

Fixed-time nonlinear homogeneous sliding mode approach for robust tracking control of multirotor aircraft: Experimental validation

This paper presents a robust scheme for fixed-time tracking control of a multirotor system. The aircraft is subjected to matched lumped disturbances, i.e., unmodeled dynamics, parameters uncertainties, and external perturbations besides measurement noise. Firstly, a novel Nonlinear Homogeneous Continuous Terminal Sliding Manifold (NHCTSM) based on the weighted homogeneity theory is presented. The sliding manifold is designed with prescribed dynamics featuring Global Asymptotic Stability (GAS) and fixed-time convergence. Then, a novel Fixed-time Non-switching Homogeneous Nonsingular Terminal Sliding Mode Control (FNHNTSMC) is proposed for the position and attitude loops by employing the developed NHCTSM and an appropriate reaching law. Moreover, the control framework incorporates a disturbance observer to feedforward and compensate for the disturbances. The designed control scheme can drive the states of the system to the desired references in fixed-time irrespective of the values of the Initial Conditions (ICs). Since the existing works on homogeneous controllers rely on the bi-limit homogeneity concept in the convergence proofs, the estimate of the settling-time or its upper-bound cannot be given explicitly. In contrast, this study employs Lyapunov Quadratic Function (LQF) and Algebraic Lyapunov Equation (ALE) in the stability analysis of both controller and observer. Following this method, an expression of the upper-bound of the settling-time is explicitly derived. Furthermore, to assure the Uniform Ultimate Boundedness (UUB) of all signals in the feedback system, the dynamics of the observer and controller are jointly analyzed. Simulations and experiments are conducted to quantify the control performance. The proposed approach achieves superior performance compared with recent literature on fixed-time/finite-time control and a commercially available PID controller. The comparative results witness that the developed control scheme improves the convergence-time, accuracy, and robustness while overcoming the singularity issue and mitigating the chattering effect of conventional SMC.     

Adaptive fractional order sliding mode controller with neural estimator

In this study, an adaptive fractional order sliding mode controller with a neural estimator is proposed for a class of systems with nonlinear disturbances. Compared with traditional sliding mode controller, the new proposed fractional order sliding mode controller contains a fractional order term in the sliding surface. The fractional order sliding surface is used in adaptive laws which are derived in the framework of Lyapunov stability theory. The bound of the disturbances is estimated by a radial basis function neural network to relax the requirement of disturbance bound. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive neural fractional order sliding mode controller, the methodology is applied to a Z-axis Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) gyroscope to control the vibrating dynamics of the proof mass. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control system can improve tracking performance as well as parameter identification performance.     

Adaptive fuzzy fixed-time dynamic surface control for stochastic nonstrict nonlinear systems with unknown dead-zones

This paper focuses on an adaptive fuzzy fixed-time control problem for stochastic nonstrict nonlinear systems with unknown dead-zones by using dynamic surface control (DSC) technology. Fuzzy logic systems (FLSs) and DSC technology are used to approximate nonlinear functions and reduce the computational complexity, respectively. At the same time, the influence of the dead-zone disturbance is offset by transforming the dead-zone model into the nonlinear model that can be approximated by the FLSs. Then, based on the fixed-time stability theory, an adaptive fuzzy fixed-time tracking control strategy is proposed, which can ensure semi-global practical fixed-time stability of the system and the tracking error converging to a small neighborhood near the origin. Finally, two simulation examples are given to prove the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.     

Predictor-based optimal robust guaranteed cost control for uncertain nonlinear systems with completely tracking errors constraint

In this paper, a novel composite controller is proposed to achieve the prescribed performance of completely tracking errors for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems. The proposed controller contains a feedforward controller and a feedback controller. The feedforward controller is constructed by incorporating the prescribed performance function (PPF) and a state predictor into the neural dynamic surface approach to guarantee the transient and steady-state responses of completely tracking errors within prescribed boundaries. Different from the traditional adaptive laws which are commonly updated by the system tracking error, the state predictor uses the prediction error to update the neural network (NN) weights such that a smooth and fast approximation for the unknown nonlinearity can be obtained without incurring high-frequency oscillations. Since the uncertainties existing in the system may influence the prescribed performance of tracking error and the estimation accuracy of NN, an optimal robust guaranteed cost control (ORGCC) is designed as the feedback controller to make the closed-loop system robustly stable and further guarantee that the system cost function is not more than a specified upper bound. The stabilities of the whole closed-loop control system is certified by the Lyapunov theory. Simulation and experimental results based on a servomechanism are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Adaptive neural asymptotic tracking control for a class of stochastic non-strict-feedback switched systems

The adaptive asymptotic tracking control problem for a class of stochastic non-strict-feedback switched nonlinear systems is addressed in this paper. For the unknown continuous functions, some neural networks are used to approximate them online, and the dynamic surface control (DSC) technique is employed to develop the novel adaptive neural control scheme with the nonlinear filter. The proposed controller ensures that all the closed-loop signals remain semiglobally bounded in probability, at the same time, the output signal asymptotically tracks the desired signal in probability. Finally, a simulation is made to examine the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Direct adaptive control for nonlinear systems using a TSK fuzzy echo state network based on fractional-order learning algorithm

This paper presents a new Takagi-Sugeno-Kang fuzzy Echo State Neural Network (TSKFESN) structure to design a direct adaptive control for uncertain SISO nonlinear systems. The proposed TSKFESN structure is based on the echo state neural network framework containing multiple sub-reservoirs. Each sub-reservoir is weighted with a TSK fuzzy rule. The adaptive law of the TSKFESN-based direct adaptive controller is derived by using a fractional-order sliding mode learning algorithm. Moreover, the Lyapunov stability criterion is employed to verify the convergence of the fractional-order adaptive law of the controller parameters. The evaluation of the proposed direct adaptive control scheme is verified using two case studies, the regulation problem of a torsional pendulum and the speed control of a direct current (DC) machine as a real-time application. The simulation and the experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Adaptive neural network control for nonstrict-feedback uncertain nonlinear systems with input delay and asymmetric time-varying state constraints

This paper is devoted to adaptive neural network control issue for a class of nonstrict-feedback uncertain systems with input delay and asymmetric time-varying state constraints. State-related external disturbances are involved into the system, and the upper bounds of disturbances are assumed as functions of state variables instead of constants. Additionally, during the approximations of unknown functions by neural networks, the online computation burdens are declined sharply, since the norms of neural network weight vectors are only estimated. In the process of dealing with input delay, an auxiliary function is applied such that the conditions for time delay are more general than the ones in existing literature. A novel adaptive neural network controller is designed by constructing the asymmetric barrier Lyapunov function, which guarantees that the output of system has a good tracking performance and the state variables never violate the asymmetric time-varying constraints. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to verify the proposed adaptive control scheme.     

Neural-network-based decentralized fault-tolerant control for a class of nonlinear large-scale systems with unknown time-delayed interaction faults

This paper proposes an adaptive approximation design for the decentralized fault-tolerant control for a class of nonlinear large-scale systems with unknown multiple time-delayed interaction faults. The magnitude and occurrence time of the multiple faults are unknown. The function approximation technique using neural networks is employed to adaptively compensate for the unknown time-delayed nonlinear effects and changes in model dynamics due to the faults. A decentralized memoryless adaptive fault-tolerant (AFT) control system is designed with prescribed performance bounds. Therefore, the proposed controller guarantees the transient performance of tracking errors at the moments when unexpected changes of system dynamics occur. The weights for neural networks and the bounds of residual approximation errors are estimated by using adaptive laws derived from the Lyapunov stability theorem. It is also proved that all tracking errors are preserved within the prescribed performance bounds. A simulation example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed AFT control scheme.     

Pinning synchronization and adaptive synchronization of complex-valued inertial neural networks with time-varying delays in fixed-time interval

This article concentrates on pinning synchronization and adaptive synchronization problems of complex-valued inertial neural networks with time-varying delays in fixed-time interval. First, regarding complex-valued inertial neural networks model as an entirety instead of reducing this system to first-order differential equation, separating the real and imaginary parts of this system into an equivalent real-valued one, and establishing a novel Lyapunov function, the fixed-time stability for the closed-loop error system is guaranteed via partial nodes controlled directly by a new pinning controller which involves the state derivatives and other proper terms. Then, from the point of saving cost and avoiding resources waste, a new pinning adaptive controller is further developed and sufficient condition ensuring the adaptive fixed-time stability for the closed-loop error system is also derived. In the end, the effectiveness of these results is verified by a numerical example.     

Design of memory-based adaptive integral sliding-mode controller for fractional-order T-S fuzzy systems and its applications

This study investigates the passivity analysis of fractional-order Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy systems subject to external disturbances and nonlinear perturbations under an adaptive integral sliding mode control (AISMC) methodology. To better accommodate the features of the T-S fuzzy dynamical model, a novel fractional-order memory-based integral-type sliding manifold function is defined, which is different from the existing sliding manifold function. With the help of Caputo fractional-order derivative properties and quadratic Lyapunov functional, some linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based sufficient criteria are derived to ensure the asymptotic stability conditions of resulting sliding mode dynamics with passive performance index. Besides that, an adaptive sliding mode control law is designed for the addressed systems to guarantee the system state variables onto the predefined integral sliding manifold. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is validated based on derived sufficient conditions with two practical models, such as fractional-order interconnected power systems and fractional-order permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) model, respectively.     

Fixed-time composite neural learning control of state-constrained nonlinear uncertain systems

This paper presents a fixed-time composite neural learning control scheme for nonlinear strict-feedback systems subject to unknown dynamics and state constraints. To address the problem of state constraints, a new unified universal barrier Lyapunov function is proposed to convert the constrained system into an unconstrained one. Taking the unconstrained system, a modified fixed-time convergence state predictor is explored, enabling the prediction error for compensating the neural adaptive law to be obtained and improving the learning ability of online neural networks (NNs). Without employing fractional power terms or a complicated switching strategy to build the control law, a new method of constructing a smooth fixed-time dynamic surface control scheme is proposed. This overcomes the potential singularity problem and the explosion of complexity often encountered in fixed-time back-stepping designs. The representative features of our design are threefold. First, it is free of the fractional power terms, yet offers fixed-time convergence. Second, it addresses the state constraint problem without requiring a feasibility check. Third, it constructs a new state-predictor and enhances the approximation accuracy of NNs. The stability of the proposed control scheme is analyzed using the Lyapunov technique. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.     

Finite/fixed-time synchronization control of coupled memristive neural networks

Finite-time and fixed-time synchronization (FAFS) of coupled memristive neural networks (CMNNs) with discontinuous feedback functions are explored in this paper. Firstly, a more comprehensive stability theory is systematically established. Secondly, by designing adaptive feedback controller and discontinuous feedback controller, both finite-time and fixed-time synchronization can be realized through regulating the main control parameter. Thirdly, 1-norm and quadratic-norm Lyapunov functions are considered simultaneously in this article, while in estimating the settling time, the former one is more accurate than the latter one under the same synchronization criteria. Finally, in numerical simulation, the analysis and comparison of the proposed controllers are given to show the effectiveness of the corresponding results.     

A yaw stability-guaranteed hierarchical coordination control strategy for four-wheel drive electric vehicles using an unscented Kalman filter

A novel hierarchical coordination control strategy (HCCS) is offered to guarantee the stability of four-wheel drive electric vehicles (4WD-EVs) combining the Unscented Kalman filter (UKF). First, a dynamics model of the 4WD-EVs is established, and the UKF-based estimator of sideslip angle and yaw rate is constructed concurrently. Second, the equivalent cornering stiffness coefficients are jointly estimated to consider the impact of vehicle uncertainty parameters on the estimator design. Afterwards, a HCCS with two-level controller is presented. The sideslip angle and yaw rate are controlled by an adaptive backstepping-based yaw moment controller, and the computational burden is relieved by an improved adaptive neural dynamic surface control technology in the upper-level controller. Simultaneously, the optimal torque distribution controller of hub motors is developed to optimize the adhesion utilization ratio of tire in the lower-level controller. Finally, the proposed HCCS has shown effective improvement in the trajectory tracking capability and yaw stability of the 4WD-EVs under various maneuver conditions compared with the traditional Luenberger observer-based and the federal-cubature Kalman filter-based hierarchical controller.