85 research outputs found
On the control of the algebraic connectivity and clustering of a mobile robotic network
International audienceIn this paper two related problems are studied: the control of the algebraic connectivity and clustering of a network of single-integrator agents. A steepest-descent algorithm is presented for the first problem, so that a smooth approximation of the algebraic connectivity of the underlying undirected communication graph converges to an assigned value. For the second problem, a new gradient-based control strategy is proposed to automatically partition the mobile robotic network into two predefined groups: our spectral clustering method leverages a continuous-time power-iteration algorithm on the normalized Laplacian matrix which provides an estimate of its Fiedler vector at each time instant. The results of numerical simulations are provided to illustrate our theoretical findings
The Second-order Parametric Consensus Protocol
International audienceIn this paper we extend the parametric consensus protocol recently introduced by the author, to more realistic agents modeled as double integrators and interacting over an undirected communication network. The stability properties of the new protocol in terms of the real parameter "s" are studied for some relevant graph topologies, and the connection with the notion of bipartite consensus is highlighted. The theory is illustrated with the help of two worked examples, dealing with the coordination of a team of quadrotor UAVs and with cooperative temperature measurement in an indoor environment
The Second-order Parametric Consensus Protocol
International audienceIn this paper we extend the parametric consensus protocol recently introduced by the author, to more realistic agents modeled as double integrators and interacting over an undirected communication network. The stability properties of the new protocol in terms of the real parameter "s" are studied for some relevant graph topologies, and the connection with the notion of bipartite consensus is highlighted. The theory is illustrated with the help of two worked examples, dealing with the coordination of a team of quadrotor UAVs and with cooperative temperature measurement in an indoor environment
Visibility maintenance via controlled invariance for leader-follower Dubins-like vehicles
The paper studies the visibility maintenance problem (VMP) for a
leader-follower pair of Dubins-like vehicles with input constraints, and
proposes an original solution based on the notion of controlled invariance. The
nonlinear model describing the relative dynamics of the vehicles is interpreted
as linear uncertain system, with the leader robot acting as an external
disturbance. The VMP is then reformulated as a linear constrained regulation
problem with additive disturbances (DLCRP). Positive D-invariance conditions
for linear uncertain systems with parametric disturbance matrix are introduced
and used to solve the VMP when box bounds on the state, control input and
disturbance are considered. The proposed design procedure is shown to be easily
adaptable to more general working scenarios. Extensive simulation results are
provided to illustrate the theory and show the effectiveness of our approachComment: 17 pages, 24 figures, extended version of the journal paper of the
authors submitted to Automatic
A Distributed Solution to the Network Reconstruction Problem
International audienceIt has been recently shown in Ren et al. (2010) that by collecting noise-contaminated time series generated by a coupled-oscillator system at each node of a network, it is possible to robustly reconstruct its topology, i.e. determine the graph Laplacian. Restricting ourselves to linear consensus dynamics over undirected communication networks, in this paper we introduce a new dynamic average consensus least-squares algorithm to locally estimate these time series at each node, thus making the reconstruction process fully distributed and more easily applicable in the real world. We also propose a novel efficient method for separating the off-diagonal entries of the reconstructed Laplacian, and examine several concepts related to the trace of the dynamic correlation matrix of the coupled single integrators, which is a distinctive element of our network reconstruction method. The theory is illustrated with examples from computer, power and transportation systems
The Deformed Consensus Protocol
International audienceThis paper studies a generalization of the standard continuous-time consensus protocol, obtained by replacing the Laplacian matrix of the communication graph with the so-called deformed Laplacian. The deformed Laplacian is a second-degree matrix polynomial in the real variable s which reduces to the standard Laplacian for s equal to unity. The stability properties of the ensuing deformed consensus protocol are studied in terms of parameter s for some special families of undirected and directed graphs, and for arbitrary graph topologies by leveraging the spectral theory of quadratic eigenvalue problems. Examples and simulation results are provided to illustrate our theoretical findings
Uncalibrated Visual Compass from Omnidirectional Line Images with Application to Attitude MAV Estimation
International audienceThis paper presents a new algorithm based on previous results of the authors, for the estimation of the yaw angle of an omnidirectional camera robot undergoing a 6-DoF rigid motion. Our real-time algorithm is uncalibrated, robust to noisy data, and it only relies on the projection of 3-D parallel lines as image features. Numerical and real-world experiments conducted with an eye-in-hand robot manipulator, which we used to simulate the 3-D motion of a Micro unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MAV), show the accuracy and reliability of our estimation algorithm
Decentralized optimal control of a vehicle platoon with guaranteed string stability
International audienceThis paper presents new decentralized optimal strategies for Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) of a car platoon under string-stability constraints. Two related scenarios are explored in the article: in the first one, a linear-quadratic regulator in the presence of measurable disturbances is synthesized, and the string-stability of the platoon is enforced over the controller's feedback and feedforward gains. In the second scenario, H2- and Hinf-performance criteria, respectively accounting for the desired group behavior and the string-stability of the platoon, are simultaneously achieved using the recently-proposed compensator blending method. An analytical study of the impact of actuation/communication delays and uncertain model parameters on the stability of the multi-vehicle system, is also conducted. The theory is illustrated via numerical simulations
KCT: a MATLAB toolbox for motion control of KUKA robot manipulators
Abstract—The Kuka Control Toolbox (KCT) is a collection of MATLAB functions for motion control of KUKA robot manipulators, developed to offer an intuitive and high-level programming interface to the user. The toolbox, which is compatible with all 6 DOF small and low payload KUKA robots that use the Eth.RSIXML, runs on a remote computer connected with the KUKA controller via TCP/IP. KCT includes more than 30 functions, spanning operations such as forward and inverse kinematics computation, point-to-point joint and Cartesian control, trajectory generation, graphical display and diagnostics. The flexibility, ease of use and reliability of the toolbox is demonstrated through two applicative examples. I
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