Multirobot Transport of Deformable Objects With Collision Avoidance

Abstract

In the problem of autonomous transport of deformable objects, we propose a multirobot approach for steering a large object to a target configuration (object dimensions, orientation, and position). Firstly, we present a deformation model based on the evolution over time of the dimensions and rotation of the object's bounding box (BB). We consider the object is grasped by a set of mobile robots with double-integrator dynamics. Then, we propose a set of nominal controllers that allows reaching a desired configuration of the BB that models the deformable object. In order to prevent collisions of the object with static or dynamic obstacles, we formulate a control barrier function (CBF) that exploits our deformation model. Finally, we integrate the nominal controllers and the CBF into a quadratic-programming controller, which includes overstretching avoidance and velocity constraints. We report simulation results to show the performance of this approach in different test scenarios.