Sliding mode control combined with extended state observer for an ankle exoskeleton driven by electrical motor

A novel sliding mode control combined with extended state observer (ESO) is proposed for an ankle exoskeleton driven by electrical motor. During the process of assisting, it is necessary to design an effective controller for assisting torque of ankle exoskeleton. However, the parameter uncertainty of complex dynamics model and the irregular motion of human ankle may affect the torque control accuracy. For a high control precision of assisting torque when facing the modeling uncertainty, the sliding mode control is employed, but a large switching gain is usually needed in order to suppress the disturbance, which cause the control signal vibrate greatly. ESO can observe and suppress the disturbance and modeling uncertainty, but its tracking performance needs to be improved. Therefore, the proposed complex controller takes the advantages of sliding mode control and extended state observer, which can not only improve torque tracking performance but also overcome the disturbance force caused by the change of human joint angle without increasing chattering of control signal. Experimental studies are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control. The results show the presented controller have better torque tracking performance and robustness stability, and the proposed controller can reduce the chattering compared with the tradition sliding mode control.

Automated summary

A novel control method for ankle exoskeleton is proposed, combining sliding mode control with extended state observer to improve control accuracy and stability, effectively suppressing disturbance and reducing vibration.