Reduced-order asymptotic observer of nonlinear friction for precise motion control

Nonlinear friction has long been, and continues to be, one of the major challenges for precision motion control systems. A linear asymptotic observer of the motion state variables with nonlinear friction uses a dedicated state-space representation of the dynamic friction force (including pre-sliding) (Ruderman, 2023b), which is robust to the noisy input signals. The observer implements the reduced-order Luenberger observation law, while assuming the output displacement is the only available measurement. The latter is relevant for multiple motion control applications with use of encoder-type sensors. The uniform asymptotic stability and convergence analysis of the proposed observer are elaborated in the present work by using the Lyapunov function-based stability criterion by Ignatyev and imposing parametric constraints on the time-dependent eigenvalues of the system matrix to be always negative real. A design procedure for assigning a dominant, and thus slowest, real pole of the observer is proposed. Explanative numerical examples accompany the developed analysis. In addition, a thorough experimental evaluation is given for the proposed observer-based friction compensation which is performed for positioning and tracking tasks. The observer-based compensation, which can serve as a plug-in to a standard feedback controller, extends a PID feedback control that is optimally tuned for disturbance suppression. The experimental results are compared with and without the plugged-in observer-based compensator.