Superiority of model predictive control with robust and stable approach for sliding wheeled mobile systems in the presence of obstacles

In this paper, we present two distinct linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) methods for controlling mobile robots in the presence of obstacles while considering the wheel slip. Predictability of the controller enables the robot to automatically choose an alternative path to avoid obstacles. However, environmental conditions and disturbances, including slip, may impact the system model. Therefore, to accurately represent the system, slip angle and slip ratio are factored into the modeling process. Then the kinematic model is linearized using the successive method to reduce computational cost. Next, both Stable MPC (SMPC) and Robust MPC have been designed and implemented on the linearized time-variant model to control the robot. The superiority of the robust predictive control method over the stable method has been discussed in terms of safety and optimal performance considering wheel slip. Finally, based on experimental tests, it has been found that the robust predictive controller is more effective than stable control when the surface is slippery and there is an obstacle in front of the robot. However, in a case where the wheel slip is neglectable, SMPC can be a better choice in presence of obstacles due to the lower computational cost.