Compound FAT-based prespecified performance learning control of robotic manipulators with actuator dynamics

In the framework of the backstepping algorithm, this article proposes a new function approximation technique (FAT)-based compound learning control law for electrically-driven robotic manipulators with output constraint. The Fourier series expansion is adopted in the learning-based design to approximate unknown terms in the system description. The accuracy of FAT approximation is also studied by defining an identification error, which is derived from a serial–parallel identifier. Furthermore, the output constraint is taken into account by integrating the error transformation, the performance function and the dynamic surface control in a compact framework. Following this idea, new compound adaptation laws are then constructed. The proposed compound learning controller confirms that all the signals of the overall system are uniformly ultimately bounded, ensuring the tracking error within the predefined bounds during operation. Different simulation scenarios applied to a robotic manipulator with motor dynamics illustrate the capability of the control algorithm.