A survey on fractional order control techniques for unmanned aerial and ground vehicles

In recent years, numerous applications of science and engineering for modeling and control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) systems based on fractional calculus have been realized. The extra fractional order derivative terms allow to optimizing the performance of the systems. The review presented in this paper focuses on the control problems of the UAVs and UGVs that have been addressed by the fractional order techniques over the last decade

Mobile Robot Navigation Using Planning Algorithm and Sliding Mode Control in a Cluttered Environment

The research contribution of the present work is to solve the path planning and path tracking problems in static and dynamic environments. A new Planning Navigation Algorithm Technique is developed in order to solve the problem of navigation with obstacle avoidance. The basic idea of this algorithm searches for a safe path for navigation. First, this algorithm is focused to identify an optimal collision-free route to a spatially defined objective. Then, in each displacement, the developed algorithm handles to maximize the distance between the obstacles and minimize the distance to the goal. This is to obtain the optimal trajectory for navigation. On the other side, a sliding mode controller is adopted to solve the tracking trajectory task. The basic idea of this control system is to allow the robot mobile to track the desired trajectory with minimum error. In addition, the comparative study between the proposed approach and the previous work is presented in order to demonstrate the satisfaction of the proposed strategy. Finally, simulation results which are developed using Matlab software are presented to show the robustness and efficiency of the developed algorithm and the reactivity of the proposed sliding mode controller

An hybridization of global-local methods for autonomous mobile robot navigation in partially-known environments

This paper deals with the navigation problem of an autonomous non-holonomic mobile robot in partially-known environment. In this proposed method, the entire process of navigation is divided into two phases: an off-line phase on which a distance-optimal reference trajectory enables the mobile robot to move from an initial position to a desired target which is planned using the B-spline method and the Dijkstra algorithm. In the online phase of the navigation process, the mobile robot follows the planned trajectory using a sliding mode controller with the ability of avoiding unexpected obstacles by the use of fuzzy logic controller. Also, the fuzzy logic and fuzzy wall-following controllers are used to accomplish the reactive navigation mission (path tracking and obstacle avoidance) for a comparative purpose. Simulation results prove that the proposed path planning method (B-spline) is simple and effective. Also, they attest that the sliding mode controller track more precisely the reference trajectory than the fuzzy logic controller (in terms of time elapsed to reach the target and stability of two wheels velocity) and this last gives best results than the wall-following controller in the avoidance of unexpected obstacles. Thus, the effectiveness of our proposed approach (B-spline method combined with sliding mode and fuzzy logic controllers) is proved compared to other techniques

A Multiagent Architecture for Mobile Robot Navigation Using Hierarchical Fuzzy and Sliding Mode Controllers

The challenge of this work is to implement an algorithm which enables the robot to achieve independent activities in the purpose of achieving a common goal, which consists in autonomous navigation in a partially unknown environment. The use of multiagent system is convenient for such a problem. Hence, we have designed a structure composed of four agents dedicated to perception, navigation, static, and dynamic obstacle avoidance. Those agents interact through a coordination system

Design, Control and Motion Planning for a Novel Modular Extendable Robotic Manipulator

This dissertation discusses an implementation of a design, control and motion planning for a novel extendable modular redundant robotic manipulator in space constraints, which robots may encounter for completing required tasks in small and constrained environment. The design intent is to facilitate the movement of the proposed robotic manipulator in constrained environments, such as rubble piles. The proposed robotic manipulator with multi Degree of Freedom (m-DOF) links is capable of elongating by 25% of its nominal length. In this context, a design optimization problem with multiple objectives is also considered. In order to identify the benefits of the proposed design strategy, the reachable workspace of the proposed manipulator is compared with that of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) serpentine robot. The simulation results show that the proposed manipulator has a relatively efficient reachable workspace, needed in constrained environments. The singularity and manipulability of the designed manipulator are investigated. In this study, we investigate the number of links that produces the optimal design architecture of the proposed robotic manipulator. The total number of links decided by a design optimization can be useful distinction in practice. Also, we have considered a novel robust bio-inspired Sliding Mode Control (SMC) to achieve favorable tracking performance for a class of robotic manipulators with uncertainties. To eliminate the chattering problem of the conventional sliding mode control, we apply the Brain Emotional Learning Based Intelligent Control (BELBIC) to adaptively adjust the control input law in sliding mode control. The on-line computed parameters achieve favorable system robustness in process of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. The simulation results demonstrate that our control strategy is effective in tracking high speed trajectories with less chattering, as compared to the conventional sliding mode control. The learning process of BLS is shown to enhance the performance of a new robust controller. Lastly, we consider the potential field methodology to generate a desired trajectory in small and constrained environments. Also, Obstacle Collision Avoidance (OCA) is applied to obtain an inverse kinematic solution of a redundant robotic manipulator

Advanced Mobile Robotics: Volume 3

Mobile robotics is a challenging field with great potential. It covers disciplines including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, cognitive science, and social science. It is essential to the design of automated robots, in combination with artificial intelligence, vision, and sensor technologies. Mobile robots are widely used for surveillance, guidance, transportation and entertainment tasks, as well as medical applications. This Special Issue intends to concentrate on recent developments concerning mobile robots and the research surrounding them to enhance studies on the fundamental problems observed in the robots. Various multidisciplinary approaches and integrative contributions including navigation, learning and adaptation, networked system, biologically inspired robots and cognitive methods are welcome contributions to this Special Issue, both from a research and an application perspective

A sEMG-based shared control system with no-target obstacle avoidance for omnidirectional mobile robots

We propose a novel shared control strategy for mobile robots in a human-robot interaction manner based on surface eletromyography (sEMG) signals. For security reasons, an obstacle avoidance scheme is introduced to the shared control system as collision avoidance guidance. The motion of the mobile robot is a resultant of compliant motion control and obstacle avoidance. In the mode of compliant motion, the sEMG signals obtained from the operator's forearms are transformed into human commands to control the moving direction and linear velocity of the mobile robot, respectively. When the mobile robot is blocked by obstacles, the motion mode is converted into obstacle avoidance. Aimed at the obstacle avoidance problem without a specific target, we develop a no-target Bug (NT-Bug) algorithm to guide the mobile robot to avoid obstacles and return to the command line. Besides, the command moving direction given by the operator is taken into consideration in the obstacle avoidance process to plan a smoother and safer path for the mobile robot. A model predictive controller is exploited to minimize the tracking errors. Experiments have been implemented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed shared control strategy and the NT-Bug algorithm