Fixed-Time Variable Gain Angle Tracking Control for Pneumatic Soft Bending Actuators

In this article, to improve the flexibility of the pneumatic actuator, a new pneumatic soft bending actuator is designed to guarantee that it can bend in any direction in space. To achieve desired angle tracking control performance of the pneumatic soft bending actuator, a novel fixed-time variable gain angle tracking control method is developed. The fixed-time variable gain angle tracking control method comprises a fixed-time variable gain disturbance observer and a fixed-time variable gain controller, and the unknown disturbance of the pneumatic soft bending actuator is estimated and compensated actively. Angle tracking experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fixed-time variable gain angle tracking control method is effective to achieve desired angle tracking control performance of the pneumatic soft bending actuator.