FORMATION CONTROL OF MULTIPLE MOBILE ROBOTS VIA SWITCHING STRATEGY

Abstract. In this paper we consider the formation control of multiple nonholo-nomic mobile robots within a desired target set. A switching control method is proposed for the group of robots based on local sensor-based information. At first, a finite-time control law is employed to make all robots move effectively into the target set. Once all the robots get in the target set, finite-time con-trol combined with feedback linearization is used in order to quickly stabilize the relative distance and orientation of the follower robots with respect to the leader robot. Both stability analysis and simulations results are provided. Key Words. Robotic network, switching strategy, target aggregation, finite-time formation