Accurate and robust body position trajectory tracking of six-legged walking robots with nonsingular terminal sliding mode control method

Many tasks, such as walking in narrow environments, detecting land mines, coordinating with manipulators, and avoiding obstacles, demand multi-legged walking robots to accurately and robustly track predefined body trajectories. Tracking body position trajectory must be accurate and robust in these situations, but research on this topic is rarely carried out. In this study, we propose a nonsingular terminal sliding mode (NTSM) control algorithm to implement accurate and robust body position trajectory tracking of six-legged walking robots. The NTSM control algorithm is constructed on the basis of the body position trajectory tracking model with a new NTSM reaching law. The performance of the NTSM control method is evaluated through several verifications. Results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is effective for accurate and robust body position trajectory tracking. The findings of this study can provide insights into improving multi-legged walking robots’ walking and operation abilities in special environments and expanding the application fields of these robots.