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Stabilization of a tractor-trailer wheeled robot

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Abstract

Wheeled mobile robots are a special class of nonholonomic mechanical systems. The mobility of such highly nonlinear systems is restricted due to the presence of nonholonomic constraints of wheels, also the system severe underactuated nature. These conditions generate major difficulties in system stabilization, i.e. to park or reach a given configuration for the overall system. This leads to a challenging control problem for research that is the focus of this paper. In this paper a new method based on time-varying feedbacks has been developed for a Tractor-trailer wheeled robot (TTWR). First kinematic model of the TTWR is obtained. Next, a novel method using timevarying feedbacks is investigated in order to stabilize the TTWR around the origin. The proposed kinematic control algorithm is developed based on switching between two finite-time controllers. Appropriate control algorithms have been designed for each step based on the stability of the closed loop system. Obtained simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed control law.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Ali Keymasi Khalaji & S. Ali A. Moosavian

Authors
  1. Ali Keymasi Khalaji
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  2. S. Ali A. Moosavian
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ali Keymasi Khalaji.

Additional information

Ali Keymasi Khalaji received his B.Sc. degree from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran, in 2007, and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from K. N. Toosi University of Technology (KNTU), Tehran, in 2009 and 2014, respectively. His research interests include modeling and control of mechanical systems, nonlinear control, adaptive and robust control with applications to mobile robotic systems and mechatronics.

S. Ali A. Moosavian received his B.S. degree in 1986 from Sharif University of Technology and the MS degree in 1990 from Tarbiat Modaress University (both in Tehran), and his Ph.D. degree in 1996 from McGill University (Montreal, Canada), all in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Professor with the Mechanical Engineering Department at K. N. Toosi University of Technology (KNTU) in Tehran since 1997. He teaches courses in the areas of robotics, dynamics, automatic control, analysis and synthesis of mechanisms. His research interests are in the areas of dynamics modeling and motion/impedance control of terrestrial, legged and space robotic systems. He has published about 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He is a member of IEEE, and one of the founders of the ARAS Research Group, and the manager of Center of Excellence in Robotics and Control at KNTU.

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Khalaji, A.K., Moosavian, S.A.A. Stabilization of a tractor-trailer wheeled robot. J Mech Sci Technol 30, 421–428 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-1246-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-1246-z

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