Adaptive neural tracking control for upper limb rehabilitation robot with output constraints

The authors investigate the trajectory tracking control problem of an upper limb rehabilitation robot system with unknown dynamics. To address the system's uncertainties and improve the tracking accuracy of the rehabilitation robot, an adaptive neural full-state feedback control is proposed. The neural network is utilised to approximate the dynamics that are not fully modelled and adapt to the interaction between the upper limb rehabilitation robot and the patient. By incorporating a high-gain observer, unmeasurable state information is integrated into the output feedback control. Taking into consideration the issue of joint position constraints during the actual rehabilitation training process, an adaptive neural full-state and output feedback control scheme with output constraint is further designed. From the perspective of safety in human–robot interaction during rehabilitation training, log-type barrier Lyapunov function is introduced in the output constraint controller to ensure that the output remains within the predefined constraint region. The stability of the closed-loop system is proved by Lyapunov stability theory. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is validated by applying it to an upper limb rehabilitation robot through simulations.