A robot control architecture supported on contraction theory. Issue 1 (2nd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Silva, Jorge; Sequeira, João; Santos, Cristina
• Is Part Of: International journal of systems science. Volume 48:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 209
• Page End: 224
• Publication Date: 2017-01-02
• Subjects: Autonomous navigation -- contraction theory -- nonlinear dynamical systems -- wheeled robots; System analysis -- Periodicals; 003.3
• DOI: 10.1080/00207721.2016.1184355
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7721

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper proposes fundamentals for stability and success of a global system composed by a mobile robot, a real environment and a navigation architecture with time constraints. Contraction theory is a typical framework that provides tools and properties to prove the stability and convergence of the global system to a unique fixed point that identifies the mission success. A stability indicator based on the combination contraction property is developed to identify the mission success as a stability measure. The architecture is fully designed through C 1 nonlinear dynamical systems and feedthrough maps, which makes it amenable for contraction analysis. Experiments in a realistic and uncontrolled environment are realised to verify if inherent perturbations of the sensory information and of the environment affect the stability and success of the global system.