Summary This paper studies adaptive parameter estimation and control for nonlinear robotic systems based on parameter estimation errors. A framework to obtain an expression of the parameter estimation error is proposed first by introducing a set of auxiliary filtered variables. Then three novel adaptive laws driven by the estimation error are presented, where exponential error convergence is proved under the conventional persistent excitation (PE) condition; the direct measurement of the time derivatives of the system states are avoided. The adaptive laws are modified via a sliding mode technique to achieve finite‐time convergence, and an online verification of the alternative PE condition is introduced. Leakage terms, functions of the estimation error, are incorporated into the adaptation laws to avoid windup of the adaptation algorithms. The adaptive algorithm applied to robotic systems permits that tracking control and exact parameter estimation are achieved simultaneously in finite time using a terminal sliding mode (TSM) control law. In this case, the PE condition can be replaced with a sufficient richness requirement of the command signals and thus is verifiable a priori. The potential singularity problem encountered in TSM controls is remedied by introducing a two‐phase control procedure. The robustness of the proposed methods against disturbances is investigated. Simulations based on the ‘Bristol‐Elumotion‐Robotic‐Torso II’ (BERT II) are provided to validate the efficacy of the introduced methods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract-This paper treats the problem of synthesizing antiwindup compensators that are able to handle plant uncertainty in addition to controller saturation. The uncertainty considered is of the frequency-weighted additive type, often encountered in linear robust control theory, and representative of a wide variety of uncertainty encountered in practice. The main results show how existing linear matrix inequality based antiwindup synthesis algorithms can be modified to produce compensators that accommodate uncertainty better. Embedded within these results is the ever-present performance-robustness tradeoff. A remarkable feature is that the often criticized internal model control antiwindup solution emerges as an "optimally robust" solution. A simple example demonstrates the effectiveness of the modified algorithms.

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Summary This paper presents a new model reference adaptive control (MRAC) framework for a class of nonlinear systems to address the improvement of transient performance. The main idea is to introduce a nonlinear compensator to reshape the closed‐loop system transient, and to suggest a new adaptive law with guaranteed convergence. The compensator captures the unknown system dynamics and modifies the given nominal reference model and the control action. This modified controlled system can approach the response of the ideal reference model. The transient is easily tuned by a new design parameter of this compensator. The nominal adaptive law is augmented by new leakage terms containing the parameter estimation errors. This allows for fast, smooth and exponential convergence of both the tracking error and parameter estimation, which again improves overall reference model following. We also show that the required excitation condition for the estimation convergence is equivalent to the classical persistent excitation (PE) condition. In this respect, this paper provides an intuitive and numerically feasible approach to online validate the PE condition. The salient feature of the suggested methodology is that the rapid suppression of uncertainties in the controlled system can be achieved without using a large, high‐gain induced, learning rate in the adaptive laws. Extensive simulations are given to show the effectiveness and the improved response of the proposed schemes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.