SUMMARYThe input-output characteristic of an ultrasonic motor (USM) has nonlinear elements and changes with a temperature rise or fluctuation of load-mass. Therefore, it is difficult to accomplish satisfactory control performance by using conventional PID controllers. In this paper, we propose a PID controller combined with a neural network (NN-PID controller). In this design method, the controller gains consist of constant gains of the PID controller and variable gains of the NN controller. The weights of the NN are adjusted by the backpropagation method so that the control error can be minimized. This method does not require long learning time of the NN. The effectiveness of the proposed design method is confirmed by experiments using an existing USM.