This article presents a comprehensive study on the control system of a single-joint robotic arm by comparing the performance of an optimal Sliding Surface PID (SSPID) controller, tuned via Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), with both optimal PID Controller and Fractional Order PID (FOPID) controller. The proposed SSPID controller integrates sliding mode control principles, where the equivalent control is derived from the system dynamics to stabilize the system on the sliding surface, while the switching control component utilizes a PID structure to ensure robustness against uncertainties and external disturbances. Simulation and experimental results indicate that the SSPID controller significantly outperforms the optimal PID and optimal FOPID controllers in terms of rise time and tracking accuracy. Notably, the simulation results also showed that the sliding surface PID controller enhances robustness, especially under variations in system physical parameters of 20% and 50%. The SSPID also shows a quicker response, minimal overshoot, and consistent performance stability.