<p>This manuscript describes a novel procedure for controlling wheeled mobile robots and making them follow a desired reference signal. The new proposal first employs a disturbance observer to compensate for matched disturbances. Then, a sliding modes controller with an adequately designed sliding surface accomplishes the control goal. According to the proposed methodology, different controllers can be designed to ensure the closed-loop system converges to the desired sliding surface. Then, finite-time or asymptotic convergence can be attained despite disturbances. The validity of the proposed scheme is proved via a Lyapunov-based analysis. Then, the novel approach is compared to other robust schemes. An exhaustive numerical analysis is developed to demonstrate the outstanding and superior efficiency of the new controller.</p>