Comparative Study Between Integrator Backstepping and Fuzzy Logic Control Applied to an Electric Powered Wheelchair

Abstract

The aim of this paper is the control of electric powered wheelchairs (EPW) which was made for people suffering of temporary or permanent disabilities due to illnesses or accidents. The EPW is powered by two Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) that are characterized by high efficiency, high torque, low noise and robustness; hence the dynamic model of the both EPW-motors is presented in the first. After that, a comparative study is made between two nonlinear command theory; Integrator Backstepping based on the second method of Lyapunov which combine the choice of the energy function with the laws control, and, fuzzy logic introduced to approach human reasoning with the help of an adequate representation of knowledge. To evaluate the performance of the two controls, numerical simulations are presented to show the evolution of electrical and mechanical quantities, the energy consumed and the squared error of the displacement and velocity. However, the reference trajectory used is that generated by the fifth-degree polynomial interpolation, which ensures a regular trajectory that is continuous in positions, velocities and accelerations.