Path Tracking Control of Mobile Manipulator with Skidding and Slipping

In this paper a path tracking backstepping-based control method for the mobile manipulator in the presence of slippage effects has been proposed. The target wheel velocities of the mobile base are determined using a kinematic control law that incorporates an adaptive term to reduce the effects of wheel skidding and slipping. This scheme combines neural network-based technique with the positive characteristics of conventional backstepping control methods. In order to provide robustness and to counteract the uncertainties caused by network reconstruction, external disturbances, etc., an adaptive bound term is utilised as well in the control scheme. The overall analysis of the stability of the system is shown using the Lyapunov theory and the Barbalat lemma.