Terminal sliding mode control of a virtual humanoid robot

This manuscript deals with the problem of controlling a virtualized humanoid robot with 16 degrees of freedom (DOF), each corresponding to the articulation in a real human being. That is, three DOF for each leg in the sagittal plane and one for the abduction movement; three DOF for each arm in the sagittal plane and one for the waist. The tracking trajectory problem of any humanoid robot like the classical biped robots requires a control algorithm with robustness against parametric uncertainties, fast response and even with finite-time convergence. These main characteristics are easily covered by sliding mode controllers. This manuscript implements a terminal second order sliding mode (TSOSM) controller to ensure the finite-time tracking trajectory of each articulation of the humanoid robot to the ones that define a classical walking pattern obtained by bio-mechanical studies. The TSOSM is implemented in a virtual platform developed in a computer-aided design software.