Fast terminal sliding mode tracking of non-holonomic systems with exponential decay rate

In this study, a recursive singularity-free, fast terminal sliding mode control method, which is able to avoid the possible singularity during the control phase, is applied for a finite-time tracking control of a class of non-holonomic systems. The reaching control law is proposed to guarantee the existence of the sliding mode around the fast terminal sliding surface and zero-tracking errors are achieved in finite time with an exponential decay rate. Simulation results are illustrated on three benchmark examples of chained-form non-holonomic systems: a wheeled mobile robot, an under-actuated rigid body and a front-wheel-drive car. The results demonstrate that the proposed control law achieves favourable tracking performance for non-holonomic systems.