Path-Following Model Predictive Control of Ballbots

This paper introduces a novel approach for model predictive control of ballbots for path-following tasks. Ballbots are dynamically unstable mobile robots which are designed to balance on a single ball. The model presented in this paper is a simplied version of a full quaternion-based model of ballbots’ underactuated dynamics which is suited for online implementation. Furthermore, the approach is extended to handle nearby obstacles directly in the MPC formulation. The presented controller is validated through simulation on a high fidelity model as well as through real-world experiments on a physical ballbot system.