An Adaptive Cascade Control Design for a Tracked Solar Panel Cleaning Robot
Received: 25 September 2025 | Revised: 12 January 2026 and 29 January 2026 | Accepted: 31 January 2026 | Online: 4 April 2026
Corresponding author: Yuliyanto Agung Prabowo
Abstract
The degradation of solar panel efficiency due to the accumulation of dust and contaminants presents a serious challenge in optimizing renewable energy systems. To address this issue, the current study proposes the design of a cascade control strategy employing a Proportional-Integral (PI) controller in the inner loop and an adaptive backstepping controller in the outer loop for a tracked-type solar panel cleaning robot. Dynamic and kinematic models were derived based on a tracked robot modeling approach. Trajectory tracking tests were conducted using a curved trajectory. The results demonstrate that the proposed control system achieved a tracking error of 0.017 m along the curved path. The control signals exhibited stable and responsive actuation performance. This strategy is effective in enhancing motion accuracy and stability of the robot in solar panel cleaning scenarios involving various trajectory shapes. Furthermore, this research highlights the potential of adaptive control implementation for field robotic systems that require robustness against dynamic uncertainties and terrain variations.
Keywords:
solar panel, tracked robot, nonlinear system, cascade control, adaptive backsteppingDownloads
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Copyright (c) 2026 Yuliyanto Agung Prabowo, Riza Agung Firmasnyah, Ilmiatul Masfufiah, Ilmi Rizki Imaduddin
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