Fixed‐time cooperative control for robotic manipulators with motion constraints using unified transformation function

Abstract This article investigates the fixed‐time consensus tracking control problem for multiagent systems composed of uncertain l‐link robotic manipulators with position and velocity constraints. Fuzzy logic systems are employed to model the uncertain dynamic of the robotic manipulators. In order to cope with the asymmetric yet time‐varying constraints, a nonlinear transformation function is introduced. With the help of the nonlinear transformation function, the original constrained manipulator systems are converted into the equivalent systems without constraint. As long as the boundedness of the state variables in the transformed systems is ensured, the constraint conditions of the original systems are not violated. Then, a fixed‐time adaptive fuzzy control scheme is developed. Under the proposed control method, the consensus tracking error can converge into a small neighborhood of origin in fixed‐time, and all the signals in the closed‐loop systems are bounded. Meanwhile, the motion constraints are not violated all the time. Specially, in view of the property of nonlinear transformation function, it is not necessary to change the control structure when the systems are subjected to no state constraint. Finally, a simulation is presented to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing the proposed control algorithms.