Departmental Papers (MEAM)
Document Type
Conference Paper
Date of this Version
May 2001
Abstract
We describe a framework for controlling a group of nonholonomic mobile robots equipped with range sensors. The vehicles are required to follow a prescribed trajectory while maintaining a desired formation. By using the leader-following approach, we formulate the formation control problem as a hybrid (mode switching) control system. We then develop a decision module that allows the robots to automatically switch between continuous-state control laws to achieve a desired formation shape. The stability properties of the closed-loop hybrid system are studied using Lyapunov theory. We do not use explicit communication between robots; instead we integrate optimal estimation techniques with nonlinear controllers. Simulation and experimental results verify the validity of our approach.
Date Posted: 19 November 2004
This document has been peer reviewed.
Comments
Copyright 2001 IEEE. Reprinted from Proceedings of the 2001 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2001) Volume 1, pages 157-162.
Publisher URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isNumber=20179&page=1
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