Switched two-level H ∞ and robust fuzzy learning control of an overhead crane

Overhead cranes are typical dynamic systems which can be modeled as a combination of a nominal linear part and a highly nonlinear part. For such kind of systems, we propose a control scheme that deals with each part separately, yet ensures global Lyapunov stability. The former part is readily controllable by the H ∞ PDC techniques, and the latter part is compensated by fuzzy mixture of affine constants, leaving the remaining unmodeled dynamics or modeling error under robust learning control using the Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. Comparison with the adaptive fuzzy control method is given via simulation studies, and the validity of the proposed control scheme is demonstrated by experiments on a prototype crane system.