Formation Tracking Control of Multiple Mobile Robots: Design Algorithms and Simulations

This paper is to explore two types of global asymptotic formation tracking control algorithms for a group of mobile robots. Specifically, we adopt several classes of distributed observers, playing the role of estimating and reproducing one-to-one references for each robot. Then we introduce a specific decentralized tracking control law for driving the robots to shape their desired formation pattern and meanwhile to follow their respective trajectories. By simulation studies, we show that it is possible to reach the ultimate control goal by redesigning the local mobile robot tracking control laws.