In this paper, a generalized regular form is proposed to facilitate sliding mode control (SMC) design for a class of nonlinear systems. A novel nonlinear sliding surface is designed using implicit function theory such that the resulting sliding motion is globally asymptotically stable. Sliding mode controllers are proposed to drive the system to the sliding surface and maintain a sliding motion thereafter. Tracking control of a two-wheeled mobile robot is considered to underpin the developed theoretical results. Model-based tracking control of a wheeled mobile robot is first transferred to a stabilization problem for the corresponding tracking error system, and then the developed theoretical results are applied to show that the tracking error system is globally asymptotically stable even in the presence of matched and mismatched uncertainties. Both experimental and simulation results demonstrate that the developed results are practicable and effective.
