Leader-follower formation control of multi-robot systems using the dynamic surface approach

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the leader-follower formation control of multi-mobile robots. In the proposed formation control, a virtual vehicle is designed such that it converges to the reference trajectory based on the leader's position and heading without the need for leader's velocity and dynamics. By employing the dynamic surface control method in the design procedure of position tracking, we can obtain a control structure that is much simpler than the traditional backstepping method. It can be showed that all closed-loop signals are uniformly ultimately bounded using Lyapunov stability analysis. Finally simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approaches presented.