Performance-Guaranteed Finite-Time Tracking of Strict-Feedback Systems with Unknown Control Directions: A Novel Switching Mechanism

The problem of achieving performance-guaranteed finite-time exact tracking for uncertain strict-feedback nonlinear systems with unknown control directions is addressed. A novel logic switching mechanism with monitoring functions is designed to deal with unknown control directions. This approach is different from existing methods like the Nussbaum gain technique and smooth orientation functions, which are inapplicable to finite-time exact tracking. The main challenge lies in designing monitoring functions and determining switching rules, which is well resolved through three steps. Most significantly, in contrast to existing works that solely guarantee bounded tracking or asymptotic exact tracking, the new mechanism incorporates novel integral sliding mode techniques to achieve finite-time exact tracking with guaranteed performance. Finally, simulations are presented with comparison to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. © 2025 IEEE.