Global continuous finite‐time tracking of robot manipulators

This paper addresses the global finite‐time tracking of robot manipulators. The commonly used linear proportional‐derivative (PD) plus (PD+) scheme is extended to achieve the global finite‐time tracking by replacing the linear errors with nonsmooth but continuous exponential errors. The global finite‐time stability of the closed loop with the proposed nonlinear PD plus control is shown using Lyapunov's direct method and finite‐time stability. Simulations performed on a two‐degree‐of‐freedom manipulator are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and the improved performance of the formulated algorithm.