Distributed coordinate tracking control of multiple wheeled mobile robots

In this thesis, distributed coordinate tracking control of multiple wheeled-mobile robots is studied. Control algorithms are proposed for both kinematic and dynamic models. All vehicle agents share the same mechanical structure. The communication topology is leader-follower topology and the reference signal is generated by the virtual leader. We will introduce two common kinematic models of WMR and control algorithms are proposed for both kinematic models with the aid of graph theory. Since it is more realistic that the control inputs are torques so dynamic extension is studied following by the kinematics. Torque controllers are designed with the aid of backstepping method so that the velocities of the mobile robots converge to the desired velocities. Because of the fact that in practice, the inertial parameter of WMR maybe not exactly known or even unknown, so both dynamics with and without inertial uncertainties are considered in this thesis

Bounded Distributed Flocking Control of Nonholonomic Mobile Robots

There have been numerous studies on the problem of flocking control for multiagent systems whose simplified models are presented in terms of point-mass elements. Meanwhile, full dynamic models pose some challenging problems in addressing the flocking control problem of mobile robots due to their nonholonomic dynamic properties. Taking practical constraints into consideration, we propose a novel approach to distributed flocking control of nonholonomic mobile robots by bounded feedback. The flocking control objectives consist of velocity consensus, collision avoidance, and cohesion maintenance among mobile robots. A flocking control protocol which is based on the information of neighbor mobile robots is constructed. The theoretical analysis is conducted with the help of a Lyapunov-like function and graph theory. Simulation results are shown to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed distributed flocking control scheme

Comprehensive review on controller for leader-follower robotic system

985-1007This paper presents a comprehensive review of the leader-follower robotics system. The aim of this paper is to find and elaborate on the current trends in the swarm robotic system, leader-follower, and multi-agent system. Another part of this review will focus on finding the trend of controller utilized by previous researchers in the leader-follower system. The controller that is commonly applied by the researchers is mostly adaptive and non-linear controllers. The paper also explores the subject of study or system used during the research which normally employs multi-robot, multi-agent, space flying, reconfigurable system, multi-legs system or unmanned system. Another aspect of this paper concentrates on the topology employed by the researchers when they conducted simulation or experimental studies

Leader-Follower Control with Odometry Error Analysis

In this paper we present a leader-follower control law that enables a mobile robot to track a desired trajectory, and allows us to specify the position in the plane of the follower robot with respect to the leader robot. We first describe the dynamic model of the plant, including input torques, and friction forces. Then the control law is developed using backstepping, and it is proved to asymptotically stabilize the tracking error to the origin. Simulation and experimental results of the closed loop system are presented, highlighting its potential application to formation control. The special case of pure tracking (without bi-dimensional position information use) is analyzed, showing that it can be applied to particular classes of non-feasible trajectories. Finally, motivated by some observations on the experiments, the effects of odometry errors are analyzed, revealing that boundedness of the tracking errors can be guaranteed if absolute position information becomes available periodically

Formation control of nonholonomic mobile robots: the virtual structure approach

PhDIn recent years, there has been a considerable growth in applications of multi-robot systems as opposed to single-robot systems. This thesis presents our proposed solutions to a formation control problem in which mobile robots are required to create a desired formation shape and track a desired trajectory as a whole. In the first instance, we study the formation control problem for unicycle mobile robots. We propose two control algorithms based on a cascaded approach: one based on a kinematic model of a robot and the other based on a dynamic model. We also propose a saturated controller in which actuator limitations are explicitly accounted for. To demonstrate how the control algorithms work, we present an extensive simulation and experimental study. Thereafter we move on to formation control algorithms in which the coordination error is explicitly defined. Thus, we are able to give conditions for robots keeping their desired formation shape without necessarily tracking the desired trajectory. We also introduce a controller in which both trajectory tracking and formation shape maintenance are achieved as well as a saturated algorithm. We validate the applicability of the introduced controllers in simulations and experiments. Lastly, we study the formation control problem for car-like robots. In this case we develop a controller using the backstepping technique. We give conditions for robots keeping their desired formation shape while failing to track their desired trajectories and present simulation results to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed controlle

Distributed formation tracking control of multiple car-like robots

In this thesis, distributed formation tracking control of multiple car-like robots is studied. Each vehicle can communicate and send or receive states information to or from a portion of other vehicles. The communication topology is characterized by a graph. Each vehicle is considered as a vertex in the graph and each communication link is considered as an edge in the graph. The unicycles are modeled firstly by both kinematic systems. Distributed controllers for vehicle kinematics are designed with the aid of graph theory. Two control algorithms are designed based on the chained-form system and its transformation respectively. Both algorithms achieve exponential convergence to the desired reference states. Then vehicle dynamics is considered and dynamic controllers are designed with the aid of two types of kinematic-based controllers proposed in the first section. Finally, a special case of switching graph is addressed considering the probability of vehicle disability and links breakage

Graph rigidity-based formation control of planar multi-agent systems

A multi-agent system is a network of interacting agents that collectively perform a complex task. This dissertation is concerned with the decentralized formation control of multi-agent systems moving in the plane. The formation problem is defined as designing control inputs for the agents so that they form and maintain a pre-defined, planar geometric shape. The focus is on three related problems with increasing level of complexity: formation acquisition, formation maneuvering, and target interception. Three different dynamic models, also with increasing level of complexity, are considered for the motion of the agents: the single-integrator model, the double-integrator model, and the full mechanical dynamic model. Rigid graph theory and Lyapunov theory are the primary tools utilized in this work for solving the aforementioned formation problems for the three models. The backstepping control technique also plays a key role in the cases of the double-integrator and full dynamic models. Starting with the single-integrator model, a basic formation acquisition controller is proposed that is only a function of the relative position of agents in an infinitesimally and minimally rigid graph. A Lyapunov analysis shows that the origin of the inter-agent distance error system is exponentially stable. It is then shown how an extra term can be added to the controller to enable formation maneuvering or target interception. The three controllers for the single-integrator model are used as a stepping stone and extended to the double-integrator model with the aid of backstepping. Finally, an actuator-level, formation acquisition control law is developed for multiple robotic vehicles that accounts for the vehicle dynamics. Specifically, a class of underactuated vehicles modeled by Euler-Lagrange-like equations is considered. The backstepping technique is again employed while exploiting the structural properties of the system dynamics. Computer simulations are provided throughout the dissertation to show the proposed control laws in action

Vision-based control of multi-agent systems

Scope and Methodology of Study: Creating systems with multiple autonomous vehicles places severe demands on the design of decision-making supervisors, cooperative control schemes, and communication strategies. In last years, several approaches have been developed in the literature. Most of them solve the vehicle coordination problem assuming some kind of communications between team members. However, communications make the group sensitive to failure and restrict the applicability of the controllers to teams of friendly robots. This dissertation deals with the problem of designing decentralized controllers that use just local sensor information to achieve some group goals.Findings and Conclusions: This dissertation presents a decentralized architecture for vision-based stabilization of unmanned vehicles moving in formation. The architecture consists of two main components: (i) a vision system, and (ii) vision-based control algorithms. The vision system is capable of recognizing and localizing robots. It is a model-based scheme composed of three main components: image acquisition and processing, robot identification, and pose estimation.Using vision information, we address the problem of stabilizing groups of mobile robots in leader- or two leader-follower formations. The strategies use relative pose between a robot and its designated leader or leaders to achieve formation objectives. Several leader-follower formation control algorithms, which ensure asymptotic coordinated motion, are described and compared. Lyapunov's stability theory-based analysis and numerical simulations in a realistic tridimensional environment show the stability properties of the control approaches