Disturbance observer-based fixed-time prescribed performance tracking control for robotic manipulator

This paper investigates the fixed-time prescribed performance tracking control for the n-DOF uncertain manipulator. First, a novel Barrier Lyapunov Function (BLF) is proposed to guarantee the prescribed performance for the manipulator tracking error. Then, we introduce a disturbance observer to estimate the system uncertainty and disturbance accurately in a predefined time. Next, a composite controller based on the nonsingular fast integral terminal sliding mode is constructed. It is strictly proved that the closed-loop system is stable in fixed-time, which is independent of the initial conditions. Moreover, both transient and steady-state performances of the outputs can be preserved. Finally, numerical simulations and experimental studies are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.