The recently proposed saturated adaptive robust controller is integrated with desired trajectory compensation to achieve global stability with much improved tracking performance. The algorithm is tested on a linear motor drive system which has limited control effort and is subject to parametric uncertainties, unmodeled nonlinearities, and external disturbances. Global stability is achieved by employing back-stepping design with bounded (virtual) control input in each step. A guaranteed transient performance and final tracking accuracy is achieved by incorporating the well-developed adaptive robust controller with effective parameter identifier. Signal noise that affects the adaptation function is alleviated by replacing the noisy velocity signal with the cleaner position feedback. Furthermore, asymptotic output tracking can be achieved when only parametric uncertainties are present. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.