# Adaptive Predefined-Time Tracking Control for Robotic Manipulator Based on Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning

## TL;DR

The paper introduces a new control method for robotic manipulators that uses reinforcement learning to track movements quickly and accurately, even with uncertain system dynamics.

## Contribution

A novel predefined-time adaptive neural tracking control method is proposed, integrating reinforcement learning and predefined-time stability theory.

## Key findings

- The proposed control scheme ensures predefined-time convergence with a preset settling time bound.
- Simulation results show the effectiveness of the method compared to conventional PID control.
- Stability analysis proves bounded signals and tracking error convergence within the specified time.

## Abstract

This paper proposes a novel predefined-time adaptive neural tracking control method for uncertain manipulator systems based on Actor-Critic reinforcement learning framework. The proposed control scheme integrates the advantages of predefined-time stability theory and reinforcement learning to achieve fast convergence with guaranteed settling time bounds while handling unknown system dynamics. An Actor neural network is designed to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions and generate control inputs, while a Critic neural network evaluates the cost-to-go function to guide the learning process. The predefined-time convergence is ensured by incorporating specially designed terms into both the control law and the neural network weight update laws. The upper bound of the settling time can be explicitly preset by a single design parameter, independent of initial conditions and system parameters. Rigorous stability analysis based on Lyapunov theory proves that all closed-loop signals are bounded and the tracking error converges to a small neighborhood of the origin within the predefined time. Simulation results on a single-link manipulator system demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control scheme compared with conventional PID control.