Nonlinear Observers for Unicycle Robots With Range Sensors

For nonlinear mobile systems equipped with exteroceptive sensors, the observability does not only depend on the initial conditions, but also on the control and the environment. This presents an interesting issue: how to design an observer together with the exciting control. In this note, the problem of designing an observer based on range sensor readings is studied. A design method based on periodic excitations is proposed for unicycle robotic systems.