Mobile Manipulator Robot Path–Tracking Control for Integration in Smart Energy Grid Applications

Integrating robotics into modern power grids has become increasingly popular. Mobile robotic systems can play an important role in smart energy grids by performing different tasks such as inspection, monitoring, maintenance, and repair of electrical networks. In this sense, integrating mobile robots in smart grid applications offers a series of benefits, such as reducing the time and cost of maintenance tasks and improving the safety and reliability of smart energy grids. However, robust motion control schemes are required to reject disturbances to ensure these robots can effectively perform their assignments. This paper presents a robust output feedback–based path– tracking control strategy for mobile manipulation systems. The proposed approach uses only position measurements to compute the control inputs required to maintain robotic systems on the expected course, despite of unknown and unexpected disruptions. Computational simulation experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the presented control scheme in a mobile manipulation robotic system subjected to unpredictable time–varying disturbances.