Funnel-based Asymptotic Control of Leader-Follower Nonholonomic Robots Subject to Formation Constraints

• Published in: IEEE transactions on control of network systems Vol. 10; no. 3; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Min, Xiao, Baldi, Simone, Yu, Wenwu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.09.2023; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Asymptotic properties; barrier Lyapunov function; Collision avoidance; Comparative studies; Constraints; Feasibility; Funnel control; leader-follower asymptotic formation; Mobile robots; nonholonomic robots; Robot kinematics; Robots; Safety; Stability analysis; State-of-the-art reviews; Wheels
• ISSN: 2325-5870; 2372-2533
• DOI: 10.1109/TCNS.2023.3240223

This work studies control of a leader-follower pair of nonholonomic systems in the presence of formation constraints like communication, feasibility and performance constraints. In such constrained configuration, communication constraints require to maintain limited-range connectivity, feasibility constraints on bearing angles are meant to avoid singularity in the control, and performance constraints include collision avoidance and pre-specified transient behaviour. Different from proposed solutions based on approximation-based prescribed performance or barrier Lyapunov techniques, this work provides an asymptotic result via a properly designed funnel technique. Stability analysis is provided and a comparative study with the state of the art illustrates the benefits of the proposed method.