Sliding mode tracking for pneumatic muscle actuators in bicep/tricep pair configuration

This paper presents a robust motion control of pneumatic muscle actuators arranged in bicep/tricep pair configuration to deal with system and environmental uncertainties using the sliding mode approach. A mathematical model is derived for an arm with PMs in bicep/tricep pair configuration. A sliding mode controller is designed to yield asymptotic tracking of elbow angle. The results of simulations are presented to demonstrate the success of the proposed controller.