Nonlinear Dyn (2018) 92:1845–1856

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-018-4167-4

ORIGINAL PAPER

Adaptive NN finite-time tracking control of output

constrained nonlinear system with input saturation
Shiyi Zhao · Hongjing Liang · Peihao Du ·
Suwen Qi

Received: 15 October 2017 / Accepted: 10 February 2018 / Published online: 3 March 2018
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract This paper considers the finite-time track-
ing control problem for the strict-feedback nonlinear
continuous systems involving input saturation and out-
put constraints. A sequence of desired and auxiliary vir-
tual control signals and real control input is designed to
derive a representation of the system estimation errors
and stabilize the system. The proposed approach is fur-
ther developed via a finite-time stability theory, barrier
Lyapunov function, and neural network approximation
scheme to achieve an expected performance of the con-
sidered system. According to the proposed scheme, we
solve the finite-time tracking control problem of the
nonlinear systems with input saturation. Then, a the-
orem is provided to address that all the signals and
system states are bounded, and the system output is
driven to track the reference signal in a finite time to a
S. Zhao · P. Du
School of Mathematics and Physics, Bohai University,
Jinzhou 121013, Liaoning, China
e-mail: shiyizhao2016@163.com
P. Du
e-mail: peihaodu2017@163.com
H. Liang (B)
College of Engineering, Bohai University, Jinzhou 121013,
Liaoning, China
e-mail: lianghongjing99@163.com
S. Qi (B)
School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center,
Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong,
China
e-mail: qisuwen@szu.edu.cn
small neighborhood of zero and remains in the prede-
fined compact sets. The effectiveness of the proposed
scheme is confirmed via two simulation examples.
Keywords Finite-time control · Barrier Lyapunov
functions (BLFs) · Output constraints · Input
saturation · Neural networks (NNs)
1 Introduction
For the control systems with nonlinear parameters,
fuzzy logic system [1–4], adaptive backstepping con-
trol [5–8] and sliding mode control [3,9–12] have been
extensive studied to obtain the desired system perfor-
mance. Adaptive backstepping control technology is
particularly prominent on account of its adjustment for
the adaptive parameters in the procedure of controller
design by online learning [13–15]. On this basis, the
estimates of the unknown nonlinear terms are disposed
by fuzzy logic systems (FLSs) [16–21] and neural net-
works (NNs) [22–28]. To mention a few, the authors
in [29] proposed an adaptive NN consensus control
method for a class of nonlinear multiagent systems with
state time delay. A direct adaptive fuzzy controller for
a class of SISO uncertain affine nonlinear systems was
developed in [30]. In [31], Park et al. adopted the Lya-
punov approach and solved the global asymptotic sta-
bility of equilibrium for continuous bidirectional asso-
ciative memory NNs of neutral type. The authors in [32]
solved the adaptive control problem of strict-feedback

123
 1846
nonlinear systems by using multilayer neural networks
(MNNs). The stability analysis problem for neural net-
works with time-varying delays was developed in [33].
It is to be emphasized that there are many practi-
cal factors [34–43] need to be considered in the engi-
neering. Output constraints and input saturation are
two of important factors, which will easily destabi-
lize stability and get bad performance of the systems.
For the output constraints, the authors in [44] inves-
tigated the control problem for SISO nonlinear sys-
tems in strict-feedback form with output constraints.
In [45], the output tracking control for strict-feedback
nonlinear systems with time-varying output constraint
was presented. In addition, [11,46,47] proposed sev-
eral approaches to deal with input saturation occurred
in the system. To mention a few, the authors in [48] pro-
posed an approximation-based adaptive tracking con-
trol approach for a class of MIMO nonlinear systems
with input saturation. In [49], for the uncertain nonlin-
ear system in a strict-feedback form with an input satu-
ration and the unknown external disturbances, Mou et
al. presented a dynamic surface control (DSC) method.
The authors in [50] developed two new robust adap-
tive control algorithms by using a Nussbaum function
and backstepping approaches. Moreover, for the finite-
time tracking control problem [51,52], [53] proposed
the new results on global finite-time stabilization for
a class of switched strict-feedback nonlinear systems.
The authors in [54] presented a finite-time tracking
issue for nonlinear quantized systems with unmeasur-
able states. In [55], a continuous finite-time control
scheme is studied for rigid robotic manipulators using
a new form of terminal sliding modes. However, input
saturation and output constraints are not considered
together in the continuous nonlinear systems, and it
can also be known as the research for the system con-
sidered input saturation and output constraints can be
further studied so that can be better applied in the actual
project, which motivates this study.
The primary work of this paper is to design the finite-
time tracking controller of the nonlinear systems with
an input saturation and the output constraints. Com-
pared with many extant results, this paper has the main
advantages as follows.
(1) It is the first time handling the finite-time tracking
control problem for the output constrained strict-
feedback nonlinear systems with input saturation.
Compared with the general infinite-time control
123
S. Zhao et al.
results, the finite-time control method of input sat-
uration system is more practical and meaningful in
the real engineering.
(2) Constructively and theoretically, by contrast with
most existing controller design procedure, we
design the desired and unknown control signals,
the virtual control signals and real control input by
using neural network approximation, respectively.
And we adopt NN approximation to approximate
the intermediate control signals rather than most
methods to approximate the unknown functions,
and therefore, the design parameters is greatly
reduced.
(3) Different from the existing adaptive control
approaches, which can only ensure the tracking
error closing to zero in infinite time, the designed
controller can efficiently insure the system perfor-
mance in a finite time by adopting a finite-time sta-
bility theory.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows.
In Sect. 2, the system description and the preparatory
work are proposed. Then, the desired and unknown
control signals, the virtual control signals, and real con-
trol input are designed in Sect. 3. Two simulation exam-
ples results are given in Sect. 4 to prove the availability
of the presented control technique. In the end, the con-
clusions are made in Sect. 5.
2 Problem formulation and preliminaries
Consider the nonlinear strict-feedback system as fol-
lows
⎧
⎨ ẋi = f i (x̄i ) + gi (x̄i ) xi+1 , i = 1, 2, . . . , n − 1
ẋn = f n (x̄n ) + gn (x̄n ) u (v (t)) , (1)
⎩
y = x1 ,
where x = [x1 , x2 . . . , xn ]T , x̄i = [x1 , x2 . . . , xi ]T ∈
R i are the state variables, y ∈ R represents the system
output and satisfies |y| < kc1 , ∀t > 0, kc1 is a pos-
itive constant. f i (x̄i ) and gi (x̄i ) , i = 1, 2, . . . , n are
the unknown smooth nonlinear functions, and u (v (t))
expresses an input saturation defined as ( [56])
⎧
⎨ u max , v ≥ u max
u = sat (v (t)) = v, u min < v < u max (2)
⎩
u min , v ≤ u min
where v is the input signal of the input saturation non-
linearity, u max > 0 and u min < 0 are the unknown
constants.
Adaptive NN finite-time tracking control 1847

For (2), a smooth piecewise function is adopted to Lemma 1 [54] Specific to the system ς̇ = f (ς, u),
denote the approximation of the input saturation func- for the function V (ς ) (smooth and positive definite),
tion and ⎧
defined as if there are some of the scalars c > 0, 0 < l < 1 and
 
⎨ u max · tanh v , v ≥ 0  > 0, so that
g (v) =  max
u
⎩ u min · tanh v , v < 0 V̇ (ς ) ≤ − cV l (ς ) + , t ≥ 0 (9)
u min
⎧
⎪ u
v − v
−e u max then, the nonlinear system ς̇ = f (ς, u) is SGPFS.
⎨ u max · e max v − v
, v≥0
e u max +e uvmax
= v −u (3) Lemma 2 [58] For any real variables z, ς , there are
⎪ u
⎩ u min · e minv
−e min
, v<0
− v positive constants μ, θ, ι, the inequality holds as fol-
e u min +e u min

and then, sat in (2) can be represented as lows:

u = sat (v) = g (v) + d (v) μ θ −μ
(4) |z|μ |α|θ ≤ ι |z|μ+θ + ι θ |α|μ+θ . (10)
μ+θ μ+θ
where d (v) = sat (v) − g (v) is a function bounded as
Lemma 3 [54] For z j ∈ R, k = 1, 2, . . . , n, 0 < l <
|d (v)| = |sat (v) − g (v)|
1, the inequality relation sets up as follows
≤ max {umax [1 − tanh (1)] , umin [tanh (1) − 1]} n l n l
= D. (5)
 
n
 l
 
z j  ≤ z j  ≤ n 1−l z j  . (11)
Otherwise, based on the theorem of the mean which k=1 k=1 k=1
shows there is a constant μ (0 < μ < 1) to make
Lemma 4 [59] RBF NN is employed to approximate
g (v) = g (v0 ) + gvμ (v − v0 ) (6) the smooth unknown nonlinear functions. For any con-
where tinuous and unknown smooth function f (X ) on the
∂g (v)  compact set
and an expected precision , there is a
gvμ = v=vμ ,
∂v RBF NN ΦiT ξi (X i ) so that
vμ = μv + (1 − μ) v0 .
f (X ) = Φ T ξ (X ) + δ (X ) , |δ (X )| ≤ .
Remark 1 Mean value theorem: For a function f (x),
if it is continuous in the interval [a, b] and derivable in Assumption 1 [60] The function gi (x̄i ) is unknown
the interval (a, b), then there exists at least one point but bounded as
 (a <  < b) in the interval such that: f (b)− f (a) = 0 < bm ≤ |gi (x̄i )| ≤ b M < ∞, i = 1, 2, . . . , n (12)

f ()(b − a) holds.
It is obvious that gi (x̄i ) is strict positive or strict neg-
By selecting v0 = 0, (6) can be rewritten as ative. In general, to assume that
g (v) = gvμ v (7)
0 < bm ≤ gi (x̄i ) ≤ b M .
Substituting (4) and (7) into (1), we have a new expres-
sion of the considered system as Assumption 2 [56] Consider gvμ in (7), there is an
⎧ unknown constant gm such that
⎨ ẋi = f i (x̄i ) + gi (x̄i ) xi+1 , i = 1, 2, . . . , n − 1
ẋn = f n (x̄n ) + gn (x̄n ) gvμ v (t) + gn (x̄n ) d (v) , 0 < gm ≤ gvμ ≤ 1. (13)
⎩
y = x1 ,
(8) Remark 2 Based on Assumptions 1 and 2, it can be
supposed that
In the following part, we first introduce some exist-
ing lemmas and assumptions for designing the adaptive 0 < b ≤ gi (x̄i ) , i = 1, 2, . . . , n − 1
NN controller. 0 < b ≤ gn (x̄n ) gvμ (14)
Definition 1 [57] The equilibrium position ς = 0 of where b = min {bm , bm gm } is an unknown constant.
the nonlinear system ς̇ = f (ς, u) is semi-global prac-
tical finite-time stable (SGPFS) if for all ς (t0 ) = ς0 , Assumption 3 The reference signal yd (t), and its nth-
there are ε > 0 and a deposit time T (ε, ς0 ) < ∞ such order time differential coefficients are both continuous
that ς (t) < ε, for all t ≥ t0 + T . and bounded.

123
1848 S. Zhao et al.

Assumption 4 [61] yr (t) and its jth-order differen- where η1 is the design parameter, kb1 = kc1 − B0 , In
( j)
tial coefficients yr (t), j = 1, . . . , n are assumed
 the set
e1 = {e1 : |e1 | < kb1 }, V1 is continuous. Then,
 ( j) 
to satisfy −yr ≤ yr (t) ≤ ȳr and yr (t) ≤ B j we obtain V̇1 as
where yr , ȳr¯, B0 , B1 , . . . , Bn are positive constants
[ f 1 (x1 ) + g1 x2 − ẏd ] − θ̃1 θ̂˙1
e1 1
¯ B0 ≤ kc1 , ȳr ≤ B0 ≤ kc1 . V̇1 =
and yr ≤ − e1
2
kb1 2 η1
¯ 2
e1   e1
= 2 ¯
f 1 + g1 x2 − g1 2
3 The controller design-based barrier Lyapunov kb1 − e12 2 − e2
kb1 1
functions 1 ˙
− θ̃1 θ̂1 (21)
η1
In this section, for system (8), a backstepping-based
scheme will be presented. It contains n steps. At Step where a new function is defined as
i (i = 1, 2, . . . , n), the desired and unknown control f¯1 = f 1 + g12 2
e1
− ẏd (22)
signals are firstly constructed to steady the first i sub- kb1 − e12
systems in theory. After that, a NN ΦiT ξi (X i ) will be
Design the virtual control signal as
adopted to approximate these unknown control signals,  
and then, the virtual controls signal can be constructed. e12l−1
The real controller v will be structured at Step n. To α̂1 = −g1−1
f¯1 +   (23)
2 − e2 l−1
kb1
proceed this course, we define a constant as 1

1 where l = 2n−1
2n+1 is the design parameter. For (23), (21)
θi = Ni Φi 2 , i = 1, 2, . . . , n (15) can be represented as
b
 l
as an unknown positive constant and θ̂i is the estimate e12 e1  
of θi , then, for any given bounded initial condition V̇1 = − 2 + 2 g1 x2 − α̂1
kb1 − e12 kb1 − e1
2
θ̂i (t0 ) ≥ 0, we have θ̂i (t) ≥ 0, for any t ≥ t0 , and 2
θ̃i = θi − θ̂i , where Ni is the number of neural network
− θ̃1 θ̂˙1
e1 1
nodes and satisfies ξiT ξi ≤ Ni . − g12 (24)
kb1 − e1
2 2 η 1
At Step i (i = 1, 2, . . . , n), the feasible virtual con-
trol signal is constructed as However, α̂1 cannot be used directly in practice. Thus,
1 e1 for any given 1 > 0, there exists a NN Φ1T ξ1 (X 1 ) such
α1 (X 1 ) = − 2 − e2 1
θ̂ (16) that
2a12 kb1 1
1 α̂1 = Φ1T ξ1 (X 1 ) + δ1 (X 1 ) |δ1 (X 1 )| ≤ 1 (25)
αi (X i ) = − 2 ei θ̂i , i = 2, . . . , n − 1 (17)
2ai where 1 is a positive constant. Then, we have
1
v = − 2 en θ̂n (18) e1
2an − 2 g1 α̂1
kb1 − e12
where e1 = x1 − yd , ei = xi − αi−1, X i = e1 e1
  T =− 2 g1 Φ1T ξ1 − 2 g1 δ1
x̄iT , θ̂¯iT , ȳd
(i)T T ¯ (i)
, θ̂i = θ̂1 , θ̂2 , . . . , θ̂i , ȳd expresses kb1 − e1 2 kb1 − e12
the vector of yd and up to its ith-order time derivatives.  2 2
b e1 1 2 e1
The virtual control signals α̂i will be described at Step ≤ 2 2 − e2
θ1 + g1 2 − e2
2a1 kb1 2 kb1
i. 1 1
Step 1: Define the error vector as e1 = x1 − yd and b2M 2 1 2
+ a +  (26)
it has 2 1 2 1
ė1 = f 1 (x1 ) + g1 x2 − ẏd (19) with g1 > 0 and θ̂1 ≥ 0, the following inequality hold
Define a positive definite barrier Lyapunov function as
 2
1 k2 1 2 e1 b e1
V1 = log 2 b1 2 + θ̃ (20) g α ≤− 2
2 − e2 1 1 2 − e2
θ̂1 (27)
2 kb1 − e1 2η1 1 kb1 1 2a1 kb1 1

123
Adaptive NN finite-time tracking control 1849

Substituting (26) and (27) into (24), one has 1

V̇1 ≤ − σ1,1 V1l + σ1,2 + e22 (35)
 l 2
e12 e1  l 
V̇1 ≤ − 2 + 2 g1 (x2 − α1 ) where σ1,1 = min 2 , k1 , σ1,2 = k1
(1 − l) ι +
kb1 − e12 kb1 − e12 η1
b2M
2 k1 2
2η1 θ1 + 2 a12 + 21 12 .
1 2 e1 b2M 2 1 2
− g1 + a +  Step i (i = 2, . . . , n − 1): Defining the error variable
2 2 − e2
kb1 2 1 2 1
⎡
1
2 ⎤ as ei = xi − αi−1 , one has

− θ̂˙1 ⎦
1 ⎣ bη1 e1 ėi = f i (x̄i ) + gi xi+1 − α̇i−1 (36)
+ θ̃1 (28)
η1 2a12 kb1 2 − e2
1
where
Define variable
e2 = x2 − α1 (29)

i−1
∂αi−1

i−1
∂αi−1
α̇i−1 = f k (x̄k ) + gk (x̄k ) xk+1 + i−1 ,
based on the Young’s inequality, one has ∂ xk ∂ xk
2 k=1 k=1

e1 1 2 e1 1

i−1
∂αi−1 ˙
i
∂αi−1 (k+1)
g1 e2 ≤ g1 + e22 . (30) i−1 = θ̂k + y .
kb1 − e1
2 2 2 kb1 − e1
2 2 2
k=1 ∂ θ̂ k
(k) r
k=0 ∂ yr
Design the adaptive law as
2 Select a following positive Lyapunov function as
˙θ̂ = η1 b e1
− k1 θ̂1 (31) 1 2 1 2
1 2 − e2
2a12 kb1 Vi = ei + θ̃ (37)
1 2 2ηi i
with θ̂1 (t0 ) ≥ 0. Based on (29), (30) and (31), (28) can Then, there has
be rewritten as 

i−1
∂αi−1
 l V̇i = ei f i (x̄i ) + gi xi+1 − f k (x̄k )
∂ xk
e12 1 k1 b2 1 k=1
V̇1 ≤ − + e22 + θ̃1 θ̂1 + M a12 + 12 
2 − e2
kb1 2 η1 2 2

i−1
∂αi−1 1 ˙
1
− gk (x̄k ) xk+1 − i−1 − θ̃i θ̂i
(32) ∂ xk ηi
k=1
From  
= ei gi xi+1 + f¯i − gi2 ei2 − θ̃i θ̂˙i
1
1 1 (38)
θ̃1 θ̂1 ≤ − θ̃12 + θ12 (33) ηi
2 2
 2 where another new function is constructed as
 
and utilizing Lemma 2, let z = 1, α = 1
ϑ̃r,1  , and
2

i−1
∂αi−1

i−1
∂αi−1
l
μ = 1 − l, θ = l, ι = l , the following inequality
1−l f¯i = f i − f k (x̄k ) − gk (x̄k ) xk+1
∂ xk ∂ xk
can be obtained k=1 k=1
  − i−1 + gi2 ei (39)
1 2 l 1 2
θ̃ ≤ (1 − l) ι + θ̃ , (34)
2η1 1 2η1 1 Design virtual control signal as
Furthermore, based on (33), (34) and Lemma 3, (32)  
−1 ¯ 2l−1 1
will be repressed as α̂i = −gi f i + ei + ei (40)
 l   2
l 1 e12 1 2 l k1 By (40), (38) will be
V̇1 ≤ −2 − k 1 θ̃ + (1 − l) ι
2 − e2
2 kb1 2η1 1 η1
1   1
k1 2 b2M 2 1 2 1 2 V̇i = ei gi xi+1 − α̂i − ei2l − ei2
+ θ + a +  + e 2
2η1 1 2 1 2 1 2 2
− gi2 ei2 − θ̃i θ̂˙i
1
(41)
2
kb1 e2 ηi
≤ k 2 −e 2 when |e1 | < k b1 ,
1
It is obvious that log k 2 −e 2
 b1 b1 1 1
l  l Similar to (25), for any given i > 0, there exists a NN
k2 e12 ΦiT ξi (X i ) such that
and then for 0 < l < 1, log k 2 b1
−e2
≤ k 2 −e2
b1 1 b1 1
holds. Thus, one has α̂i = ΦiT ξi (X i ) + δi (X i ) , |δi (X i )| ≤ i ,

123
1850 S. Zhao et al.

where i is a positive constant. Then, we have Define a positive Lyapunov function as

b 1 1 1 2
− ei gi α̂i ≤ 2 ei2 θi ξiT ξi + gi2 ei2 Vn = en2 + θ̃ . (51)
2ai 2 2 2ηn n
b2M 2 1 2 Then, we have
+a + i (42) 
2 i 2 V̇n = en f n (x̄n ) + gn gvμ v (t) + gn d (v)
b
ei gi αi ≤ − 2 ei2 θ̂i (43)
2ai

n−1
∂αn−1

n−1
∂αn−1
Substituting (42) and (43) into (41), we have − f k (x̄k ) − gk (x̄k ) xk+1
  ∂ xk ∂ xk
k=1 k=1
1 bη i ˙ 
V̇i ≤ − ei2l + ei gi (xi+1 − αi ) + θ̃i ei2 − θ̂i
−n−1 − θ̃n θ̂˙n
1
ηi 2ai2
ηn
b2  
1 1 1
− gi2 ei2 − ei2 + M ai2 + i2 (44) ¯
= en f n + gn gvμ v (t) + gn d (v) − gn2 en2
2 2 2 2
− θ̃n θ̂˙n
1
Let (52)
ηn
ei+1 = xi+1 − αi , (45)
where
and based on the Yang’s inequality, we have

n−1
∂αn−1
1 1 2 f¯n = f n − f k (x̄k )
ei gi ei+1 ≤ gi2 ei2 + ei+1 (46) ∂ xk
2 2 k=1
Construct the adaptive law as

n−1
∂αn−1
− gk (x̄k ) xk+1 − n−1
θ̂˙i = 2 ei2 − ki θ̂i
bηi
(47) ∂ xk
k=1
2ai
Combining (45), (46) and (47), (44) can be rewritten as + gn2 en . (53)
1 2 ki 1 Design virtual control signal as
V̇i ≤ − ei2l + ei+1 + θ̃i θ̂i − ei2  
2 ηi 2  −1 1
α̂n = − gn gvμ f¯n + en2l−1 + en . (54)
b2M 2 1 2 2
+ a + i (48)
2 i 2 By (54), (52) will be
Similar to (33) and (34), then (48) can be rewritten as   1
    V̇n = −en2l + en gn gvμ v (t) − α̂n − en2
1 2 l 1 2 l ki 2
V̇i ≤ −2l ei − ki θ̃i + (1 − l) ι
+ en gn d (v) − gn2 en2 − θ̃n θ̂˙n .
2 2ηi ηi 1
(55)
ηn
ki 2 b2M 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
+ θ + a + i − ei + ei+1 Similar to (25), for any given n > 0, there exists a NN
2ηi i 2 i 2 2 2
ΦnT ξn (X n ) such that
1 1 2
≤ −σi,1 Vil + σi,2 − ei2 + ei+1 (49) α̂n = ΦnT ξn (X n ) + δn (X n ) |δn (X n )| ≤ n ,
2 2
 
where σi,1 = min 2l , ki , σi,2 = ηkii (1 − l) ι+ 2η
ki 2
θ + where n is a positive constant. Then, we have
i i
b2M b 1
2 ai2 + 21 i2 . − en gn gvμ α̂n ≤ 2 en2 θn ξnT ξn + gn2 en2
2an 2
Step n: Define error variable en = xn − αn−1 , we have b2M 2 1 2
ėn = f n (x̄n ) + gn gvμ v (t) + gn d (v) − α̇n−1 (50) + a +  (56)
2 n 2 n
where b
ei gn gvμ v ≤ − 2 en2 θ̂n . (57)

n−1
∂αn−1

n−1
∂αn−1 2an
α̇n−1 = f k (x̄k ) + gk (x̄k ) xk+1 Substituting (56) and (57) into (55), we have
∂ xk ∂ xk  
k=1 k=1
1 bηn 2 ˙
+ n−1 , V̇n ≤ −en + θ̃n
2l
e − θ̂n + en gn d (v)
ηn 2an2 n

n−1
∂αn−1 ˙
n
∂αn−1 (k+1)
n−1 = θ̂k + y 1 1 b2 1
(k) r − gn2 en2 − en2 + M an2 + n2 .
k=1 ∂ θ̂k
(58)
k=0 ∂ yr 2 2 2 2

123
Adaptive NN finite-time tracking control 1851

Based on the Yang’s inequality and (5), we have That is, after the finite time T ∗ , the tracking error
1 1 remains in a small neighborhood of the origin. Now,
en gn d (v) ≤ gn2 en2 + D 2 (59) the following theorem is given to sum up the above
2 2
Construct the adaptive law as backstepping calculations procedure.
Therefore, from the above calculations, it is obvious
θ̂˙n = 2 en2 − kn θ̂n
bηn
(60) that |x1 | ≤ |e1 | + |yr (t)| < kb1 + B0 . Define kb1 =
2an kc1 − B0 , and then, it has |x1 | < kc1 . Thus, the system
Combining (59) and (60), (58) can be rewritten as output is not violated by its limit.
kn 1
V̇n ≤ − en2l + θ̃n θ̂n − en2 Theorem 1 For the nonlinear system (1) with output
ηn 2
2 constraints and input saturation, with the aid of real
bM 2 1 2 1 2
a +  + D (61) controller (18), the virtual controllers (16), (17) and
2 n 2 n 2 adaptation laws (31), (47), (60), and then, all the sig-
Similar to (33) and (34), (61) can be rewritten as nals in the closed-loop system are SGPFS and the
 l  
l 1 2 1 2 l kn system output tracks the reference signal into a small
V̇n ≤ −2 e − kn θ̃ + (1 − l) ι
2 n 2ηn n ηn neighborhood of zero in a finite time.
kn 2 b2M 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
+ θ + a +  + D − en Remark 3 An adaptive NN finite-time tracking con-
2ηn n 2 n 2 n 2 2
trol method is studied in this paper for the output con-
1 2
≤ −σn,1 Vn + σn,2 − en
l
(62) strained nonlinear system with input saturation, it can
2 obtain the system stability in finite-time. However, we
 l 
where σn,1 = min 2 , kn , σn,2 = ηknn (1 − l) ι + have not considered more factors such as the external
kn 2 b2M 2 disturbances or time-varying constraints which usually
2ηn θn+ 21 n2 + 2 an + 21 D 2 .
appeared in the practical engineering system, and then,
Define
in future work, we will try to do more deeper work in
V = V1 + V2 + . . . + Vn (63) this direction and study these methods directly to the
Then, we have actual engineering system model.

V̇ = V̇1 + V̇2 + . . . + V̇n (64)

Combining (35), (49) and (62), one has
4 Simulation results

n
V̇ ≤ − σi,1 Vil + σi,2 . (65)
The following simulation examples results are put for-
i=1 i=1
ward to show the availability of the presented scheme.
Based on Lemma 3, we can obtain
V̇ ≤ − σ1 V l + σ2 (66)
  Example 1 Consider the nonlinear system as follows:
where
n σ1 = min σi,1 , i = 1, 2, . . . , n , σ2 = ⎧  
σ
i=1 i,2 . ⎪
⎪ ẋ1 = 2 + 0.5sin(x1 ) + x14 x2 
   1−l  ⎨
σ2 ẋ2 = x12 x23 + 2 + 0.25 cos(x22 ) x3
Let T ∗ = (1−l)ασ
1 1−l (0) − l
V , (67)
1 (1−α)σ1 ⎪ ẋ3 = x32 sin(x1 − x2 ) + u (v (t))
⎪
⎩
where V (0) denotes the starting value of V (t). y = x1
In accordance with Lemma 1, for ∀t ≥ T ∗ , V l ≤
σ2 where an input saturation is described as
(1−α)σ1 . In other words, all the signals of the considered
closed-loop systems are SGPFS. ⎧
⎨ 4, v(t) ≥ 4
Furthermore, according to the definition of V , for u = sat (v (t)) = v, − 4 < v(t) < 4 (68)
∀t ≥ T ∗ , we have ⎩
− 4, v(t) ≤ − 4
  1 2
1
σ2 l
−2 In order to deal with the unknown nonlinear terms, the
|y − yr | ≤ kb1 1 − e (1−α)σ1
.
membership functions are chosen as

123
1852 S. Zhao et al.

1.5 1.4
e1
y e2
yr 1.2
1
1

0.8
0.5
0.6

0 0.4

0.2
−0.5
0

−0.2
−1
−0.4

−1.5 −0.6
0 10 20 30 40 50 0 10 20 30 40 50
time[Sec] Time(Sec)

Fig. 1 Trajectories of y (t) and yr (t) Fig. 3 Trajectory of e1 and e2

0.8
x2 0.7
0.6 x3 θ̂1
0.6 θ̂2
0.4 θ̂3
0.5
0.2
0.4
0
0.3
−0.2
0.2
−0.4
0.1
−0.6
0
−0.8
0 10 20 30 40 50 −0.1
0 10 20 30 40 50
time[Sec]
Time(Sec)
Fig. 2 State trajectories x2 and x3
Fig. 4 Trajectories of adaptive laws θ̂1 , θ̂2 and θ̂3

 
(x1 − j)2
μ M J (x1 ) = exp − system are chosen as x1 (0) = 0.1, x2 (0) = 0.1,
1 2
  x3 (0) = 0.3 and [θ1 (0) , θ2 (0) , θ3 (0)]T = [0, 0, 0]T .
(x1 − j)2 (x2 − j)2 Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 demonstrate corresponding
μ M J (x̄2 ) = exp − −
2 2 2 emulation results. Figure 1 shows trajectories of sys-
 
(x1 − j) 2 (x2 − j)2 (x3 − j)2 tem output y and a given reference signal yr (t), which
μ M J (x̄3 ) = exp − − − demonstrates that the tracking error can be assured to
3 2 2 2
be small enough and output y of the systems does not
j = −9, −7, −5, −3, −1, 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.
violate the limit. Figure 2 depicts the trajectories of the
For the simulation, the reference signal is given as system states x2 and x3 , which reveals that the systems
yr (t) = sin (0.5t) + 0.5 sin (t), system output is lim- states are bounded. Figures 3 and 4 indicate the control
ited as |y| ≤ |yr | + |e1 | ≤ 1.5 + 0.5 = 2. In this errors and adaptive laws of the systems are bounded,
simulation, all the design parameters are chosen as and Figs. 5 and 6 show the system input saturation
a1 = 3, a2 = 2, a3 = 3, k1 = k2 = k3 = 7 u (v (t)) and the saturation control input v are bounded
and η1 = η2 = η3 = 15. The initial values of the as well.

123
Adaptive NN finite-time tracking control 1853

4 0.12
u y
yr
3 0.1

2 0.08

1
0.06

0
0.04
−1
0.02
−2
0
−3
−0.02
−4 0 10 20 30 40 50
0 10 20 30 40 50
time[Sec]
time[Sec]
Fig. 7 Trajectories of y (t) and yr (t)
Fig. 5 Trajectory of system input u (v (t))
0.1
10 x
2
v 0.08

0
0.06

−10
0.04

−20 0.02

−30 0

−0.02
−40

−0.04
−50
−0.06
0 10 20 30 40 50
−60 time[Sec]
0 10 20 30 40 50
time[Sec]
Fig. 8 State trajectory x2
Fig. 6 Trajectory of control input v
0.45
e1
e2
0.4
The simulation results reveal that in a finite time the 0.35
system output follows the expected reference signal
0.3
into a small enough bounded set, and that all of the
0.25
signals in the closed-loop systems are bounded.
0.2
Example 2 To further illustrate the effectiveness and 0.15
practicality of the proposed control method, a single- 0.1
link rigid robot system [3] is considered as follows:
0.05
J θ̈ = − (0.5mgl + Mgl) sin (θ ) + u, 0

where J = Ml 2+ 1
3 ml
2
is the moment of inertia, −0.05
0 10 20 30 40 50
θ ∈ 0, π2 is the joint rotation angle, m = 1.5 kg Time(Sec)
represents the mass of the load, g = 9.8 m/s 2 is the
gravity coefficient, M = 3 kg denotes the mass of the Fig. 9 Trajectory of e1 and e2
rigid link and l = 0.5 m is the length of the robot link.

123
1854 S. Zhao et al.

0.1 2
θ̂1 u
0.09 θ̂2
1
0.08

0.07
0
0.06

0.05 −1
0.04

0.03 −2

0.02
−3
0.01

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 −4
0 10 20 30 40 50
Time(Sec)
time[Sec]
Fig. 10 Trajectories of adaptive laws θ̂1 , θ̂2 and θ̂3
Fig. 11 Trajectory of system input u (v (t))

10
Define the new states variables as x1 = θ , x2 = θ̇ , v
and the system input is the input saturation described 8

as 6
⎧
⎨ 4, v(t) ≥ 4 4

u = sat (v (t)) = v, − 4 < v(t) < 4 2

⎩
− 4, v(t) ≤ − 4 0

we can construct the system as −2

⎧ −4
⎨ ẋ1 = x2
ẋ = 1J [− (0.5mgl + Mgl) sin (x1 ) + u (v (t))] −6
⎩ 2
y = x1 −8

In this simulation, the initial values of the states are −10

x1 (0) = 0.1, x2 (0) = 0.1 and [θ1 (0) , θ2 (0)]T =
[0, 0]T . The reference signal is yr (t) = 0.015 sin (0.8t)
+ 0.01, system output is limited as |y| ≤ |yr | + |e1 | ≤
1.5 + 0.5 = 2. In this simulation, all the design param-
eters are chosen as a1 = 3, a2 = 2, k1 = k2 = 0.7
and η1 = η2 = 15. Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12
demonstrate corresponding emulation results. Figure 7
shows trajectories of system output y and a given ref-
erence signal yr (t), which demonstrates that the track-
ing error can be assured to be small enough and output
y of the systems does not violate the limit. Figure 8
depicts the trajectories of the system states x2 , which
reveals that the systems states are bounded. Figures 9
and 10 indicate the control errors and adaptive laws of
the systems are bounded, and Figs. 11 and 12 show that
the system input saturation u (v (t)) and the saturation
control input v are bounded as well.
The simulation results show that in a finite-time sys-
tem output follows the desired reference signal in a
0 10 20 30 40 50
time[Sec]
Fig. 12 Trajectory of control input v
bounded set, all the closed-loop signals are bounded,
and the effectiveness of the proposed finite-time control
scheme is demonstrated.
5 Conclusion
This paper has proposed a finite-time tracking con-
trol scheme for the output constrained and input satu-
rated nonlinear systems. By adopting the BLFs and NN
approximate approach, in accordance with the adap-
tive backstepping scheme and the finite-time stability
theory, the tracking control problem is studied with-
out the constrained condition of the unknown nonlinear

123
Adaptive NN finite-time tracking control
functions terms. Under the proposed control method,
the system performance can be achieved in a finite
time, and the tracking error of the system can reach
a small enough neighborhood of zero concurrently.
These results can be demonstrated by two simulation
examples in this paper.
Funding This work is partially supported by the National Nat-
ural Science Foundation of China (61703051) and the Depart-
ment of Education of Liaoning Province (LZ2017001).
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no con-
flict of interest.
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