Stabilization of nonlinear systems with parametric uncertainty using variable structure techniques

The authors present a result on the robust stabilization of a class of nonlinear systems exhibiting parametric uncertainty. They consider feedback linearizable nonlinear systems with a vector of unknown constant parameters perturbed about a known value. A Taylor series of the system about the nominal parameter vector coupled with a feedback linearizing control law yields a linear system plus nonlinear perturbations. Via a structure matching condition, a variable structure control law is shown to exponentially stabilize the full system. The novelty of the result is that the linearizing coordinates are completely known since they are defined about the nominal parameter vector, and fewer restrictions are imposed on the nonlinear perturbations than elsewhere in the literature.