Coordinated path following for unicycles: A nested invariant sets approach. (October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Doosthoseini, Alireza; Nielsen, Christopher
• Is Part Of: Automatica. Volume 60(2015)
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 29
• Publication Date: 2015-10
• Subjects: Coordinated path following problem -- Multi-agent path following manifold -- Local coordination set; Automatic control -- Periodicals; Automation -- Periodicals; 629.805
• DOI: 10.1016/j.automatica.2015.06.033
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0005-1098

Abstract

Abstract: We formulate a coordinated path following problem for N unicycle mobile robots as an instance of a nested set stabilization problem. Stabilization of the first set corresponds to driving the unicycles to their assigned paths. Stabilization of the second set, a subset of the first, corresponds to meeting the coordination specification. The first set is stabilized, for initial conditions sufficiently close to the set, in a decentralized manner using feedback linearization. For general coordination tasks we utilize feedback linearization to stabilize the nested set in a centralized manner, again, for initial conditions sufficiently close to the second set. In the special case in which coordination entails making the unicycles maintain a formation along their paths, we employ a semi-distributed control law under less restrictive communication assumptions. Experimental results are provided.