A Method of Boundary Following by a Wheeled Mobile Robot Based on Sampled Range Information

  • Authors:

  • Michael Hoy

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems
  • Year:
  • 2013

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Abstract

In this paper, we propose a control law for navigating a robot along the boundary of an obstacle, using sampled line-of-sight obstacle distance data. By forming some assumptions about the shape of the obstacle, we generate constraints suitable for navigation using a model predictive control type approach. We show how a target point may be generated to facilitate the desired motion. The proposed method is suitable for vehicles with unicycle dynamics, and has the advantage of being able to vary the vehicles speed and following distance to adapt to the obstacle. We are able to show collision avoidance, complete transversal of the obstacle and finite completion time for transversing a finite boundary segment. Possible extensions to target convergence and moving obstacles are outlined. Simulations and experiments confirm the validity of the method.