Time-optimal cooperative control of multiple robot vehicles

Abstract

This paper presents a formulation and solution of the time-optimal control of multiple cooperative robot vehicles. In particular, a group of robot vehicles reaching a terminal state in absolute and/or relative formations in minimum time is addressed. A canonical formulation of the problem is first derived and a numerical technique, which can effectively solve this class of problems, is then proposed. Numerical results are then presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed formulation and method of solution. The techniques described offer a practical solution to the problem of building and controlling formations of cooperative autonomous vehicles in real-time.