This paper proposes an algorithm that drives a unicycle type robot to a desired path, including obstacle avoidance capabilities. The path-following control design relies on Lyapunov theory, backstepping techniques and deals explicitly with vehicle dynamics. Furthermore, it overcomes the initial condition constraints present in a number of path-following control strategies described in the liter...

A hybrid control system for dynamic path following for an autonomous helicopter is described. The hierarchically structured system combines continuous control law execution with event-driven state machines. Trajectories are defined by a sequence of 3D path segments and velocity profiles, where each path segment is described as a parametric curve. The method can be used in combination with a pat...

A closed-loop, time-optimal path-following control scheme is proposed for a class of constrained differentially flat systems. Within a receding horizon framework, a finite horizon optimisation problem is solved at each sample, using available state feedback and feedforward path information. Irrespective of horizon length, the proposed formulation guarantees exact path-following. Moreover, the r...

Inspired by the previous work of Aicardi et al.[1] a path following controller for underactuated planar vehicles is designed by adopting a polar-like kinematic model of the system. The solution proposed does not generally guarantee null asymptotic path following error, but only its boundedness below an adjustable upper threshold. However, knowledge of the path curvature is not necessary, thus r...

Path following controllers make the output of a control system approach and traverse a pre-specified path with no a priori time-parametrization. The first part of the thesis implements a path following controller for a simple class of paths, based on transverse feedback linearization (TFL), which guarantees invariance of the path to be followed. The coordinate and feedback transformation employ...

For many tasks, predictive path-following control can significantly improve the performance and robustness of autonomous robots over traditional trajectory tracking control. It does this by prioritizing closeness to the path over timed progress along the path and by looking ahead to account for changes in the path. We propose a novel predictive pathfollowing approach that couples feedforward li...

The problemof path following formarine surface vessels using the rudder angle is addressed in this paper. A four-degree-of-freedom nonlinear surface vessel model, together with the Serret–Frenet equations, is introduced to describe the ship dynamics and path following error dynamics. While similar models have been used and reported in the literature for path following control algorithm developm...

A model predic-tive control scheme to solve path-following problems for nonlinear systems subject to input and state constraints is proposed. Sufficient conditions which guarantee the stability of the proposed scheme are derived. Furthermore, it is discussed how additional degrees of freedom in the path description can be formulated in an extended path-following setup. The presented schemes are...

A 3 degrees of freedom (surge, sway, and yaw) nonlinear controller for path following of marine craft using only two controls is derived using nonlinear control theory. Path following is achieved by a geometric assignment based on a line-of-sight projection algorithm for minimization of the cross-track error to the path. The desired speed along the path can be specified independently. The contr...