Chattering attenuation using linear-in-the-parameter neural nets in variable structure control of robot manipulators with friction

Variable structure control is a recognized method to stabilize mechanical systems with friction. Friction produces non linear phenomena, such as tracking errors, limit cycles, and undesired stick-slip motion, degrading the performance of the closed-loop system. The main drawback of variable structure control is the presence of chattering, which is not suitable in mechanical systems. In this paper, we design a variable structure controller complemented with Linear-in-the-Parameter neural nets to attenuate chattering. Experimental validation applied to a three degree of freedom robot mechanical manipulator is shown to support the results.