<p>The paper proposes a adaptive optimal sliding mode control method which integrated sliding mode control and adaptive optimal control techniques to achieve robust and optimal performance for nonlinear WMR systems. Sliding mode control minimizes the impact of disturbances, while adaptive optimal control, solved via the adaptive dynamic programming technique, ensures optimal performance under system nonlinearities. The key contributions of this study are: using a single control loop instead of the typical approach that relies on separate kinematic and dynamic control loops and solving nonlinear optimal problems with sliding surface variable instead of state variable as usual. The improvement in both structure and optimal variable leads to more simple in implementation and faster in response. The system’s stability is verified through Lyapunov’s criteria, and simulations with specific operational parameters confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach through comparative analysis.</p>