An adaptive control algorithm for robot manipulators in task space

This paper considers adaptive control of robotic manipulators in task space coordinates. An adaptive control law is developed based on sliding mode and a general Lyapunov-like concept. It is shown that global stability and convergence can be achieved for the adaptive control algorithm. The algorithm has the advantage that inverse of Jacobian matrix and the bounded inverse of the estimated inertia matrix are not required. In addition, two methods are introduced for the algorithm to achieve robustness to bounded disturbances. Simulation results are also provided to demonstrate the system performance.