Multirobot control with double-integrator dynamics and control barrier functions for deformable object transport

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a formation control system for deforming and transporting simultaneously a de-formable object with a team of robots, modeled with double-integrator dynamics. The goal is to reach a target configuration, defined as a combination of shape, scale, orientation and position of the formation. We augment this controller with a set of control barrier functions (CBFs). The CBFs allow us to satisfy fundamental constraints for the success of the task: avoidance of agent-to-agent, agent-to-obstacle and object-to-obstacle collisions, and of excessive stretching. We test the performance of our proposal in different simulation scenarios.