Circular Formation Control of Multiple Unicycle-Type Agents With Nonidentical Constant Speeds
01 Jan 2019-IEEE Transactions on Control Systems and Technology (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)-Vol. 27, Iss: 1, pp 192-205
TL;DR: This paper proposes a combined controller to stabilize a formation shape and synchronize the heading of each agent simultaneously and considers several different formation design approaches based on different formation specifications under different interaction graphs.
Abstract: This paper discusses the problem of controlling formation shapes for a group of nonholonomic unicycle-type agents with constant speeds. The control input is designed to steer their orientations and the aim is to achieve a desired formation configuration for all the agents subject to constant-speed constraints. The circular motion center is adopted as a virtual position for each agent to define the desired formation shape. We consider several different formation design approaches based on different formation specifications under different interaction graphs. In particular, two different formation design approaches, namely, a displacement-based approach and a distance-based approach, are discussed in detail to coordinate constant-speed agents in achieving a desired formation shape with stable circular motions via limited interactions. The communication and measurement requirements for each approach are also discussed. Furthermore, we propose a combined controller to stabilize a formation shape and synchronize the heading of each agent simultaneously. The effectiveness of the proposed formation control schemes is validated by both numerical simulations and real experiments with actual unmanned fixed-wing aircraft.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: The proposed control law guarantees the globally asymptotic stability of the whole closed-loop swarm system under the control input constraints of fixed-wing UAVs.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present solutions to the flocking and target interception problems of multiple nonholonomic unicycle-type robots using the distance-based framework, where control laws are designed at the kinematic level and are based on the rigidity properties of the graph modeling the sensing/communication interactions among the robots.
Abstract: In this brief, we present solutions to the flocking and target interception problems of multiple nonholonomic unicycle-type robots using the distance-based framework. The control laws are designed at the kinematic level and are based on the rigidity properties of the graph modeling the sensing/communication interactions among the robots. An input transformation is used to facilitate the control design by converting the nonholonomic model into the single-integrator-like equation. We assume only a subset of the robots knows the desired, time-varying flocking velocity, or the target’s motion. The resulting control schemes include distributed, variable structure observers to estimate the unknown signals. Our stability analyses prove convergence to the desired formation while tracking the flocking velocity or the target motion. The results are supported by experiments.
33 citations
TL;DR: A novel moving-target enclosing control scheme is proposed by using the feedback linearization approach, in which the design procedure of the cooperative controller is more straightforward and the corresponding stability analysis is more concise.
Abstract: This article investigates the moving-target circular formation control problem for multiple nonholonomic vehicles under a directed graph. First, a novel moving-target enclosing control scheme is proposed by using the feedback linearization approach, in which the design procedure of the cooperative controller is more straightforward. Compared with the existing literature, the designed controller relaxes some existing constraints and the corresponding stability analysis is more concise. Second, based on the distance measurements, the observers, including sliding-mode observer and relative position observer, are designed to estimate the relative position so that the global position measurements are not required. Therefore, the observer-based controller becomes more suitable for practical application. Numerical simulations are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a forward motion control for trajectory tracking and mobile formation coordination for a group of nonholonomic vehicles on $SE(2)$ is presented. And the coordination relationship of relative positions and headings is explored thoroughly for the group of vehicles to maintain a rigid-body motion constraint.
Abstract: This article addresses forward motion control for trajectory tracking and mobile formation coordination for a group of nonholonomic vehicles on $SE(2)$ . First, by constructing an intermediate attitude variable which involves vehicles’ position information and desired attitude, the translational and rotational control inputs are designed in two stages to solve the trajectory tracking problem. Second, the coordination relationships of relative positions and headings are explored thoroughly for a group of nonholonomic vehicles to maintain a mobile formation with rigid-body motion constraints. We prove that, except for the cases of parallel formation and translational straight line formation, a mobile formation with strict rigid-body motion can be achieved if and only if the ratios of linear speed to angular speed for each individual vehicle are constants. Motion properties for mobile formation with weak rigid-body motion are also demonstrated. Thereafter, based on the proposed trajectory tracking approach, a distributed mobile formation control law is designed under a directed tree graph. The performance of the proposed controllers is validated by both numerical simulations and experiments.
29 citations
30 Mar 2021
TL;DR: A pigeon-inspired circular formation control method is proposed to form the desired circular distribution in a plane based on the intelligent pigeon behavior during hovering to reach the goal of prescribed radius and angular distribution.
Abstract: The problem of cooperative circular formation with limited target information for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system is addressed in this paper. A pigeon-inspired circular formation cont...
27 citations
References
More filters
01 Jan 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a survey of the use of consensus algorithms in multi-vehicle cooperative control, including single-and double-integrator dynamical systems, rigid-body attitude dynamics, rendezvous and axial alignment, formation control, deep-space formation flying, fire monitoring and surveillance.
Abstract: The coordinated use of autonomous vehicles has an abundance of potential applications from the domestic to the hazardously toxic. Frequently the communications necessary for the productive interplay of such vehicles may be subject to limitations in range, bandwidth, noise and other causes of unreliability. Information consensus guarantees that vehicles sharing information over a network topology have a consistent view of information critical to the coordination task. Assuming only neighbor-neighbor interaction between vehicles, Distributed Consensus in Multi-vehicle Cooperative Control develops distributed consensus strategies designed to ensure that the information states of all vehicles in a network converge to a common value. This approach strengthens the team, minimizing power consumption and the deleterious effects of range and other restrictions. The monograph is divided into six parts covering introductory, theoretical and experimental material and featuring: an overview of the use of consensus algorithms in cooperative control; consensus algorithms in single- and double-integrator dynamical systems; consensus algorithms for rigid-body attitude dynamics; rendezvous and axial alignment, formation control, deep-space formation flying, fire monitoring and surveillance. Notation drawn from graph and matrix theory and background material on linear and nonlinear system theory are enumerated in six appendices. The authors maintain a website at which can be found a sample simulation and experimental video material associated with experiments in several chapters of this book. Academic control systems researchers and their counterparts in government laboratories and robotics- and aerospace-related industries will find the ideas presented in Distributed Consensus in Multi-vehicle Cooperative Control of great interest. This text will also serve as a valuable support and reference for graduate courses in robotics, and linear and nonlinear control systems.
2,720 citations
Book•
25 Jun 2010
2,625 citations
"Circular Formation Control of Multi..." refers background in this paper
...Remark 3: The main idea in the controller design is inspired by the consensus-based linear formation control [29], [31]....
[...]
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed some main results and progress in distributed multi-agent coordination, focusing on papers published in major control systems and robotics journals since 2006 and proposed several promising research directions along with some open problems that are deemed important for further investigations.
Abstract: This paper reviews some main results and progress in distributed multi-agent coordination, focusing on papers published in major control systems and robotics journals since 2006. Distributed coordination of multiple vehicles, including unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned underwater vehicles, has been a very active research subject studied extensively by the systems and control community. The recent results in this area are categorized into several directions, such as consensus, formation control, optimization, and estimation. After the review, a short discussion section is included to summarize the existing research and to propose several promising research directions along with some open problems that are deemed important for further investigations.
1,814 citations
TL;DR: A survey of formation control of multi-agent systems focuses on the sensing capability and the interaction topology of agents, and categorizes the existing results into position-, displacement-, and distance-based control.
1,751 citations
"Circular Formation Control of Multi..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Generally speaking, formation shape control algorithms reported in the vast literature can be classified into the following three approaches [3]: position-based control, displacement-based control, and distance-based control....
[...]
...position-based formation approach, as discussed in [3]....
[...]
...For detailed discussions on different control approaches and formation frameworks, the readers are referred to the survey [3] or the excellent introduction in [29, Ch....
[...]
...Two formation control approaches are considered in this section: the position-based approach and the displacement-based approach (which are two fundamental approaches in formation shape control as reviewed in [3])....
[...]
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed some main results and progress in distributed multi-agent coordination, focusing on papers published in major control systems and robotics journals since 2006, and proposed several promising research directions along with some open problems that are deemed important for further investigations.
Abstract: This article reviews some main results and progress in distributed multi-agent coordination, focusing on papers published in major control systems and robotics journals since 2006. Distributed coordination of multiple vehicles, including unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles, has been a very active research subject studied extensively by the systems and control community. The recent results in this area are categorized into several directions, such as consensus, formation control, optimization, task assignment, and estimation. After the review, a short discussion section is included to summarize the existing research and to propose several promising research directions along with some open problems that are deemed important for further investigations.
1,655 citations