Neural network–based sliding-mode control of a tendon sheath–actuated compliant rescue manipulator

The novel contribution of this article is to propose a neural network–based sliding-mode control strategy for improving the position-control performance of a tendon sheath–actuated compliant rescue manipulator. Structural design of a rescue robot with slender and compliant mechanical structure is introduced. The developed robot is capable of drilling into the narrow space under debris and accommodating complicated configuration in ruins. Dynamics modeling and parameters identification of a compliant gripper with flexible tendon sheath transmission are researched and discussed. Moreover, the neural network–based sliding-mode control scheme developed based on radial basis function network is proposed to improve the position-control accuracy of the gripper with modeling uncertainties and external disturbances. The stability of the proposed control system is demonstrated using Lyapunov stability theory. Further experimental investigation including trajectory-tracking experiments and step-response experiments are conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed neural network–based sliding-mode control scheme. Experimental results show that the proposed neural network–based sliding-mode control scheme is superior to cascaded proportional–integral–derivative controller and conventional sliding-mode controller in position-control application.