Rigidity Based Robust Formation Maneuvering Control for Nonholonomic Mobile Robots

In this paper, a distance-based kinematic level formation maneuvering control is proposed for multiple non-holonomic mobile robots to track a predefined trajectory while retaining the desired formation shape. Rigidity properties from the graph theory are the key tool to define the interactions among the robots. A leader-follower approach is used by assuming that only the leader knows the desired maneuvering velocity. As a result, the control signal will include a distributed observer to estimate the unknown velocities of the followers with which they have to move. A low pass filter(LPF) is employed to alleviate the chattering in the control signal. Also, a disturbance ob-server(DOB) is proposed for mobile robots to achieve robustness to disturbances. Simulation results are included to substantiate the claims about the performance of designed controllers and filters.