Tracking Control of Fully-actuated port-Hamiltonian Mechanical Systems via Sliding Manifolds and Contraction Analysis

Abstract In this paper, we propose a trajectory tracking controller for fully-actuated port-Hamiltonian (pH) mechanical systems, which is based on recent advances in contraction analysis and differential Lyapunov theory. The tracking problem is solved by defining a suitable invariant sliding manifold which provides a desired steady state behavior. The manifold is then made attractive via contraction techniques. Finally, we present numerical simulation results where a SCARA robot is commanded by the proposed tracking control law.