Event-triggered sliding mode control for differential-drive mobile robots

Zhiqiang Chen; Duzhesheng Liao; Wanghui Yang; Zhiqiang Chen; Duzhesheng Liao; Wanghui Yang

doi:10.3934/math.2026666

AIMS Mathematics

2026, Volume 11, Issue 6: 16199-16234. doi: 10.3934/math.2026666

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Research article

Event-triggered sliding mode control for differential-drive mobile robots

1.
Faculty of Control Systems and Robotics, ITMO University, Kronverkskiy ave 49, St. Petersburg, Leningrad Region, Russia
2.
School of Information Science and Technology, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou 310015, China
3.
School of Management, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China

Received: 03 March 2026 Revised: 19 May 2026 Accepted: 20 May 2026 Published: 08 June 2026
MSC : 93C10

In this paper, we investigated trajectory tracking control for differential-drive mobile robots under unknown disturbances and limited communication resources. To address the singularity problem and the trade-off between high-precision finite-time tracking and communication resource conservation, we proposed a novel event-triggered sliding mode control scheme. The scheme achieved three major results: First, a specially designed sliding surface eliminated the singularity problem and ensured high convergence accuracy. Second, an adaptive disturbance observer accurately estimated unknown disturbances without requiring prior information. Third, an event-triggered mechanism significantly reduced communication demands while maintaining control performance. Importantly, the proposed controller avoided the high-gain issues present in methods. Comparative MATLAB simulations demonstrated faster convergence, smaller steady-state errors, and a favorable balance between tracking precision and communication efficiency.
- differential-drive mobile robot,
- finite time stability,
- sliding mode control,
- event-triggered control,
- disturbance observer
Citation: Zhiqiang Chen, Duzhesheng Liao, Wanghui Yang. Event-triggered sliding mode control for differential-drive mobile robots[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2026, 11(6): 16199-16234. doi: 10.3934/math.2026666

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Abstract

In this paper, we investigated trajectory tracking control for differential-drive mobile robots under unknown disturbances and limited communication resources. To address the singularity problem and the trade-off between high-precision finite-time tracking and communication resource conservation, we proposed a novel event-triggered sliding mode control scheme. The scheme achieved three major results: First, a specially designed sliding surface eliminated the singularity problem and ensured high convergence accuracy. Second, an adaptive disturbance observer accurately estimated unknown disturbances without requiring prior information. Third, an event-triggered mechanism significantly reduced communication demands while maintaining control performance. Importantly, the proposed controller avoided the high-gain issues present in methods. Comparative MATLAB simulations demonstrated faster convergence, smaller steady-state errors, and a favorable balance between tracking precision and communication efficiency.

References

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