posted on 2006-08-01, 00:00authored byDavid C. Conner, Alfred A. Rizzi, Howie Choset
We present a method for defining a hybrid control system capable of simultaneously addressing the
global navigation and control problem for a convex-bodied wheeled mobile robot navigating amongst obstacles.
The method uses parameterized continuous local feedback control policies that ensure safe operation
over local regions of the free configuration space; each local policy is designed to respect nonholonomic
constraints, bounds on velocities (inputs), and obstacles in the environment. The hybrid control system
makes use of a collection of these local control policies in concert with discrete planning tools in order to
plan, and replan in the face of changing conditions, while preserving the safety and convergence guarantees
of the underlying control policies. In this paper, we provide details of the system models and policy
definitions used to validate the approach in simulation and experiment with a convex-bodied wheeled mobile
robot. This work is one of the first that combines formal planning with continuous feedback control
guarantees for systems subject to nonholonomic constraints, input bounds, and non-trivial body shape.