Research ArticleFinite-time stabilization for a class of nonholonomic feedforward systems subject to inputs saturation

•A general model of nonlinear feedforward systems subject to nonholonomic constraints is introduced in this paper.•A weaker sufficient condition on characterizing the nonlinear growth of the nonholonomic systems for its saturated finite-time stabilization is derived.•A new systematic saturated state feedback control design procedure is proposed to solve the finite-time stabilization problem for all plants in the considered class.•An application example for vertical wheel on rotating table is modeled and solved by the proposed method.

This paper studies the problem of finite-time stabilization by state feedback for a class of uncertain nonholonomic systems in feedforward-like form subject to inputs saturation. Under the weaker homogeneous condition on systems growth, a saturated finite-time control scheme is developed by exploiting the adding a power integrator method, the homogeneous domination approach and the nested saturation technique. Together with a novel switching control strategy, the designed saturated controller guarantees that the states of closed-loop system are regulated to zero in a finite time without violation of the constraint. As an application of the proposed theoretical results, the problem of saturated finite-time control for vertical wheel on rotating table is solved. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.