A new hybrid system architecture with local feedback control of a wheeled mobile manipulator

In this paper, a novel hybrid system with a local feedback control architecture for a wheeled mobile manipulator (WMM) is proposed to seek a target and grasp it within an unknown indoor environment. The active behaviors of a WMM are able to explore environment, lock target, self-localization and avoid obstacles. Initially, an ingenious hybrid model which captures the continuous dynamics of the WMM and the event-driven collision-avoiding goal seeking process is established. Next, a two-level control architecture is devised for the WMM system, where the first level mainly handles sensor feedback subject to sensor fusion, whereas the second level is responsible for providing a well performed supervisory control that can manipulate all available surrounding resources to successfully accomplish the aforementioned mission. In the Advanced Control Lab of Dept. of Electrical Engineering at the National Taiwan University, an actual WMM is developed, named The Treasure Hunter (TTH), which is able to hunt treasures in an unknown environment whereby the effectiveness of the proposed approach is satisfactorily demonstrated.