Attitude oscillation suppression control of a XK-I spherical robot

Abstract

Purpose In complex environments, a spherical robot has great application value. When the pendulum spherical robot is stopped or disturbed, there will be a periodic oscillation. This situation will seriously affect the stability of the spherical robot. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a control method based on backstepping and disturbance observers for oscillation suppression. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes the mechanism of oscillation. The oscillation model of the spherical robot is constructed and the relationship between the oscillation and the internal structure of the sphere is analyzed. Based on the oscillation model, the authors design the oscillation suppression control of the spherical robot using the backstepping method. At the same time, a disturbance observer is added to suppress the disturbance. Findings It is found that the control system based on backstepping and disturbance observer is simple and efficient for nonlinear models. Compared with the PID controller commonly used in engineering, this control method has a better control effect. Practical implications The proposed method can provide a reliable and effective stability scheme for spherical robots. The problem of instability in real motion is solved. Originality/value In this paper, the oscillation model of a spherical robot is innovatively constructed. Second, a new backstepping control method combined with a disturbance observer for the spherical robot is proposed to suppress the oscillation.