Observer-based fixed-time tracking control for space robots in task space

The problem of task-space tracking control of a free-floating space robot is addressed in this paper. Based on a fixed-time extended state observer (FXESO), a fixed-time position and attitude control (FXPAC) method is developed. The attitude of the end-effector is represented in modified Rodrigues parameters (MRPs). The FXESO provides the estimation of the joint velocity and the lumped disturbance for the control system. Based on the backstepping technique and a power integrator, the FXPAC method is designed. This control scheme can guarantee tracking errors converging to a neighborhood of the origin within a fixed time in the presence of the external disturbance. Moreover, since the inverse of the generalized Jacobian matrix is involved in the controller, it is necessary to consider dynamic singularities. To handle these singularities, a method of combining the singularity separation and damped reciprocal (SSDR) is applied to the space robot. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. •Fixed-time tracking control in task space is proposed for space robots.•Fixed-time extended state observer is designed to obtain velocities and disturbance.•Dynamic singularities are handled during the control design.