Modeling and control of wheeled mobile robot in constrained environment based on hybrid control framework

Abstract

This article addresses the hybrid control method for wheeled mobile robot in constrained environment. Wheeled mobile robots, which are characterized by nonholonomic constraints, are particularly difficult to control since environment constraints should be taken into account sometimes. Traditional control methods, which are based on precise models of environment, may lead to great challenges in determining suitable control laws to steer wheeled mobile robots. To enhance autonomy of wheeled mobile robots, hybrid system frameworks which consider simultaneously the control and decision-making issues are required. In this paper, the wheeled mobile robot which operates in a constrained environment is modeled as a 3-layered hybrid architecture: finite state machine for the decision-making process, wheeled mobile robot system for the continuous state plant, while the interface as the interaction between the continuous dynamics and the decision-making process. It is obvious that this hybrid architecture is particularly useful in describing the interactions between discrete and continuous components that exist simultaneously in robotic systems. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective for the control of wheeled mobile robots. © 2009 IEEE.