{"title":"Embedded technique-based formation control of multiple wheeled mobile robots with application to cooperative transportation","authors":"Quanwei Wu, Xiangyu Wang, Xuechao Qiu","doi":"10.1016/j.conengprac.2024.106002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The cooperative transportation problem for multiple wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) via formation control is investigated in this paper. A formation control algorithm based on an embedded technique is proposed for cooperative transportation of a shared object using <span><math><mi>n</mi></math></span>-WMRs. Instead of relying on the conventional design philosophy directly based on formation errors, the proposed algorithm is divided into two parts by considering the communication topology and WMRs’ dynamics “separately”. The first part involves a distributed signal generator that generates desired trajectories for the WMRs based on their initial positions, the formation vector, and the desired trajectory of the object. The second part consists of tracking controllers to enable the WMRs to track their desired trajectories. The proposed algorithm is distributed and differs from the existing cooperative transportation algorithms, as it eliminates the requirement for all WMRs to know the object’s position. Moreover, it exhibits remarkable compatibility and features a concise modular design. With the proposed algorithm, WMRs achieve formation in finite time. Theoretical proof supports the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, which is further validated through several conducted experiments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50615,"journal":{"name":"Control Engineering Practice","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Control Engineering Practice","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096706612400162X","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AUTOMATION & CONTROL SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The cooperative transportation problem for multiple wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) via formation control is investigated in this paper. A formation control algorithm based on an embedded technique is proposed for cooperative transportation of a shared object using -WMRs. Instead of relying on the conventional design philosophy directly based on formation errors, the proposed algorithm is divided into two parts by considering the communication topology and WMRs’ dynamics “separately”. The first part involves a distributed signal generator that generates desired trajectories for the WMRs based on their initial positions, the formation vector, and the desired trajectory of the object. The second part consists of tracking controllers to enable the WMRs to track their desired trajectories. The proposed algorithm is distributed and differs from the existing cooperative transportation algorithms, as it eliminates the requirement for all WMRs to know the object’s position. Moreover, it exhibits remarkable compatibility and features a concise modular design. With the proposed algorithm, WMRs achieve formation in finite time. Theoretical proof supports the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, which is further validated through several conducted experiments.
期刊介绍:
Control Engineering Practice strives to meet the needs of industrial practitioners and industrially related academics and researchers. It publishes papers which illustrate the direct application of control theory and its supporting tools in all possible areas of automation. As a result, the journal only contains papers which can be considered to have made significant contributions to the application of advanced control techniques. It is normally expected that practical results should be included, but where simulation only studies are available, it is necessary to demonstrate that the simulation model is representative of a genuine application. Strictly theoretical papers will find a more appropriate home in Control Engineering Practice''s sister publication, Automatica. It is also expected that papers are innovative with respect to the state of the art and are sufficiently detailed for a reader to be able to duplicate the main results of the paper (supplementary material, including datasets, tables, code and any relevant interactive material can be made available and downloaded from the website). The benefits of the presented methods must be made very clear and the new techniques must be compared and contrasted with results obtained using existing methods. Moreover, a thorough analysis of failures that may happen in the design process and implementation can also be part of the paper.
The scope of Control Engineering Practice matches the activities of IFAC.
Papers demonstrating the contribution of automation and control in improving the performance, quality, productivity, sustainability, resource and energy efficiency, and the manageability of systems and processes for the benefit of mankind and are relevant to industrial practitioners are most welcome.