A guiding vector field algorithm for path following control of nonholonomic mobile robots

Abstract

In this paper we propose an algorithm for path-following control of the nonholonomic mobile robot based on the idea of the guiding vector field. The desired path may be an arbitrary smooth curve in its implicit form, that is, a level set of some known smooth function. Using this function and the kinematic robot's model, we design a guiding vector field, whose integral curves converge to the trajectory. A nonlinear motion controller is then proposed which steers the robot along such an integral curve, bringing it to the desired path. We give conditions for the global convergence of our algorithm. Experiments with real wheeled robots confirm the applicability and performance of the proposed path following control algorithm.