Trajectory Tracking of a Nonholonomic Mobile Robot using Optimal Cascade Sliding Mode Controller

The trajectory tracking for a non-holonomic mobile robot is addressed in this paper. Cascade control is implemented with a Sliding Mode Controller for the outer loop and a Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller governing the inner loop. Linear Quadratic Regulator is further applied to the outer loop to optimize the controller's effort. The model is further analyzed based on various output performances such as trajectory tracking, reference tracking of linear and angular velocities, sliding surfaces of the controller, and its robustness. A comparative analysis with and without an optimal approach has been illustrated. Simulations are carried out on a virtual robotic simulator in LabVIEW.