A Type-2 Fuzzy Cascade Control Architecture for Mobile Robots

The real-time path tracking control of mobile robots attracted considerable research interest since they inherit nonholonomic properties and uncertainties caused by the internal dynamics and/or feedback sensors. In this paper, we will propose a cascade control architecture, which includes the inner and outer control loops, for the path tracking control of mobile robots. In the proposed mobile robot cascade structure, interval type-2 fuzzy PID controllers are implemented as the outer and inner loop controllers to achieve a satisfactory tracking performance in presence of uncertainties. In this context, we will present a simple two stage mobile robot cascade design strategy. We will present real-time control experiments performed on the PIONEER 3-DX mobile robot to show the efficiency and the superior tracking performance of the type-2 fuzzy cascade control architecture in comparison with its conventional PID and type-1 fuzzy controllers counterparts in presence of uncertainties. © 2013 IEEE.