A neural network controller for the path tracking control of a hopping robot involving time delays.

In this paper a hopping robot motion with offset mass is discussed. A mathematical model has been considered and an efficient single layered neural network has been developed to suit to the dynamics of the hopping robot, which ensures guaranteed tracking performance leading to the stability of the otherwise unstable system. The neural network takes advantage of the robot regressor dynamics that expresses the highly nonlinear robot dynamics in a linear form in terms of the known and unknown robot parameters. Time delays in the control mechanism play a vital role in the motion of hopping robots. The present work also enables us to estimate the maximum time delay admissible with out losing the guaranteed tracking performance. Further this neural network does not require offline training procedures. The salient features are highlighted by appropriate simulations.