Nilpotentization of the kinematics of the n-trailer system at singular points and motion planning through the singular locus

We propose in this paper a constructive procedure that transforms locally, even at singular configurations, the kinematics of a car towing trailers into Kumpera-Ruiz normal form. This construction converts the nonholonomic motion planning problem into an algebraic problem (the resolution of a system of polynomial equations), which we illustrate by steering the two-trailer system in a neighborhood of singular configurations. We show also that the n-trailer system is a universal local model for all Goursat structures and that all Goursat structures are locally nilpotentizable.Comment: LaTeX2e, 23 pages, 4 figures, submitted to International journal of contro

Nonholonomic motion planning: steering using sinusoids

Methods for steering systems with nonholonomic constraints between arbitrary configurations are investigated. Suboptimal trajectories are derived for systems that are not in canonical form. Systems in which it takes more than one level of bracketing to achieve controllability are considered. The trajectories use sinusoids at integrally related frequencies to achieve motion at a given bracketing level. A class of systems that can be steered using sinusoids (claimed systems) is defined. Conditions under which a class of two-input systems can be converted into this form are given

Trajectory generation for the N-trailer problem using Goursat normal form

Develops the machinery of exterior differential forms, more particularly the Goursat normal form for a Pfaffian system, for solving nonholonomic motion planning problems, i.e., motion planning for systems with nonintegrable velocity constraints. The authors use this technique to solve the problem of steering a mobile robot with n trailers. The authors present an algorithm for finding a family of transformations which will convert the system of rolling constraints on the wheels of the robot with n trailers into the Goursat canonical form. Two of these transformations are studied in detail. The Goursat normal form for exterior differential systems is dual to the so-called chained-form for vector fields that has been studied previously. Consequently, the authors are able to give the state feedback law and change of coordinates to convert the N-trailer system into chained-form. Three methods for planning trajectories for chained-form systems using sinusoids, piecewise constants, and polynomials as inputs are presented. The motion planning strategy is therefore to first convert the N-trailer system into Goursat form, use this to find the chained-form coordinates, plan a path for the corresponding chained-form system, and then transform the resulting trajectory back into the original coordinates. Simulations and frames of movie animations of the N-trailer system for parallel parking and backing into a loading dock using this strategy are included

Hybrid stabilizing control on a real mobile robot

To establish empirical verification of a stabilizing controller for nonholonomic systems, the authors implement a hybrid control concept on a 2-DOF mobile robot. Practical issues of velocity control are also addressed through a velocity controller which transforms the mobile robot to a new system with linear and angular velocity inputs. Experiments in the physical meaning of different controller components provide insights which result in significant improvements in controller performanc

A path planning and path-following control framework for a general 2-trailer with a car-like tractor

Maneuvering a general 2-trailer with a car-like tractor in backward motion is a task that requires significant skill to master and is unarguably one of the most complicated tasks a truck driver has to perform. This paper presents a path planning and path-following control solution that can be used to automatically plan and execute difficult parking and obstacle avoidance maneuvers by combining backward and forward motion. A lattice-based path planning framework is developed in order to generate kinematically feasible and collision-free paths and a path-following controller is designed to stabilize the lateral and angular path-following error states during path execution. To estimate the vehicle state needed for control, a nonlinear observer is developed which only utilizes information from sensors that are mounted on the car-like tractor, making the system independent of additional trailer sensors. The proposed path planning and path-following control framework is implemented on a full-scale test vehicle and results from simulations and real-world experiments are presented.Comment: Preprin

Steering nonholonomic systems in chained form

The authors introduce a nilpotent form, called a chained form, for nonholonomic control systems. For the case of a nonholonomic system with two inputs, they give constructive conditions for the existence of a feedback transformation which puts the system into chained form, and show how to steer the system between arbitrary states. Examples are presented for steering a car and a car with a trailer attached: other examples can be found in the areas of space robotics and multifingered robot hands. The present results also have applications in the area of nilpotentization of distributions of vector fields on R^n

Nonholonomic Motion Planning Strategy for Underactuated Manipulator

This paper develops nonholonomic motion planning strategy for three-joint underactuated manipulator, which uses only two actuators and can be converted into chained form. Since the manipulator was designed focusing on the control simplicity, there are several issues for motion planning, mainly including transformation singularity, path estimation, and trajectory robustness in the presence of initial errors, which need to be considered. Although many existing motion planning control laws for chained form system can be directly applied to the manipulator and steer it to desired configuration, coordinate transformation singularities often happen. We propose two mathematical techniques to avoid the transformation singularities. Then, two evaluation indicators are defined and used to estimate control precision and linear approximation capability. In the end, the initial error sensitivity matrix is introduced to describe the interference sensitivity, which is called robustness. The simulation and experimental results show that an efficient and robust resultant path of three-joint underactuated manipulator can be successfully obtained by use of the motion planning strategy we presented