betekintés - Robotics - # Observer-based Formation Tracking Control for Second-Order Multi-Vehicle Systems

Observer-Based Formation Tracking Control for Second-Order Multi-Vehicle Systems with Bearing-Persistently Exciting Formations

Q: How can the proposed observer-based control approach be extended to handle communication delays or packet losses in the multi-vehicle network?

To extend the proposed observer-based control approach for multi-vehicle systems to handle communication delays or packet losses, several strategies can be employed. First, the design of the observers can incorporate delay compensation techniques. This can be achieved by modeling the communication delays as part of the system dynamics, allowing the observers to predict the state of the vehicles based on past measurements. For instance, a state predictor can be integrated into the observer design, which uses historical data to estimate the current state when new measurements are delayed. Additionally, robust control techniques can be applied to ensure stability and performance despite packet losses. This involves designing the observer and controller to be resilient to missing data, possibly by employing techniques such as state estimation with missing measurements or using redundancy in the communication protocol. For example, implementing a consensus-based approach where vehicles can share their state estimates with multiple neighbors can mitigate the impact of packet losses. Moreover, the use of event-triggered communication strategies can be beneficial. Instead of continuous data transmission, vehicles can communicate their states only when significant changes occur, reducing the likelihood of congestion and improving the reliability of the information exchanged. This approach can be combined with the Bearing Persistently Exciting (BPE) formation concept, ensuring that the formation remains stable even under communication constraints.

Q: What are the potential limitations or drawbacks of the BPE formation concept, and how can it be further generalized or relaxed?

The BPE formation concept, while advantageous for enabling decentralized localization and control in multi-vehicle systems, has several limitations. One significant drawback is its reliance on the assumption that some inter-agent bearings are persistently exciting (PE). If the formation topology changes or if the vehicles experience dynamic environments that affect their relative bearings, maintaining the BPE condition can become challenging. This can lead to difficulties in ensuring the uniqueness of the formation configuration and the stability of the observer-based controllers. Furthermore, the BPE formation may not guarantee global observability in all scenarios, particularly in configurations where the number of PE bearings is insufficient. This limitation can restrict the applicability of the BPE concept in larger or more complex formations. To generalize or relax the BPE formation concept, researchers could explore hybrid approaches that combine BPE with other localization techniques, such as integrating range measurements or using additional sensors that provide complementary information. Additionally, relaxing the conditions on the graph topology required for BPE could enhance its applicability, allowing for more flexible formations that can adapt to changing environments or communication constraints.

Q: What are the potential applications and real-world scenarios where the developed techniques could be particularly useful, and what additional challenges might arise in those contexts?

The observer-based formation tracking control techniques developed for multi-vehicle systems have numerous potential applications across various fields. One prominent application is in autonomous vehicle fleets, such as drones or ground robots, used for tasks like surveillance, search and rescue operations, and environmental monitoring. In these scenarios, the ability to maintain a formation while estimating positions and velocities based solely on relative bearings is crucial, especially in GPS-denied environments. Another application is in precision agriculture, where fleets of autonomous vehicles can work together to monitor crops, apply fertilizers, or perform inspections. The observer-based control approach can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of these operations by enabling vehicles to coordinate their movements effectively. However, several challenges may arise in these contexts. For instance, in dynamic environments, the relative bearings may change rapidly due to obstacles or varying terrain, complicating the localization and control processes. Additionally, communication constraints, such as delays or packet losses, can hinder the effectiveness of the proposed techniques, necessitating robust solutions to ensure reliable operation. Moreover, safety and regulatory considerations must be addressed, particularly in applications involving autonomous vehicles operating in public spaces. Ensuring that the vehicles can respond appropriately to unexpected events or changes in their environment is critical for their safe deployment. Overall, while the developed techniques offer significant potential, careful consideration of these challenges is essential for successful real-world implementation.

Alapfogalmak

This paper proposes an observer-based formation tracking control approach for multi-vehicle systems with second-order motion dynamics, where vehicles can only measure relative bearings to their neighbors and only one leader vehicle has access to its global position.

Kivonat

The paper presents an observer-based formation tracking control approach for multi-vehicle systems with second-order motion dynamics. The key highlights are:

Centralized and decentralized localization algorithms are designed to estimate the position and velocity of each vehicle using only the bearings and acceleration input of each agent. The estimation error is proven to be globally exponentially stable under both centralized and decentralized observers, provided the current formation is Bearing-Persistently Exciting (BPE).
An observer-based controller is proposed that relies solely on the estimated positions and velocities. The local exponential stability of the distributed observer-based tracking controller is proven, provided the desired formation is BPE.
The concept of BPE formation is further explored, proposing new algorithms for bearing-based localization and state estimation of second-order systems in centralized and decentralized manners.
Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed observers and the observer-based tracking controllers.

Összefoglaló testreszabása

Átírás mesterséges intelligenciával

Hivatkozások generálása

Forrás fordítása

Egy másik nyelvre

Gondolattérkép létrehozása

a forrásanyagból

Forrás megtekintése

arxiv.org

Statisztikák

The vehicles' positions, velocities, and acceleration inputs are bounded.
The relative bearing measurements are well-defined and the formation is Bearing-Persistently Exciting (BPE).

Idézetek

"This work further explores the concept of the Bearing Persistently Exciting (BPE) formation by proposing new algorithms for bearing-based localization and state estimation of second-order systems in centralized and decentralized manners."
"It is assumed that all vehicles are equipped with sensors capable of sensing the bearings relative to neighboring vehicles and that at least one leader vehicle has access to its global position."

Főbb Kivonatok

Observer-Based Control of Second-Order Multi-vehicle Systems in Bearing-Persistently Exciting Formations

by Zhiqi Tang, ... : arxiv.org 09-16-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.08675.pdf

Observer-Based Control of Second-Order Multi-vehicle Systems in Bearing-Persistently Exciting Formations

Mélyebb kérdések

How can the proposed observer-based control approach be extended to handle communication delays or packet losses in the multi-vehicle network?

To extend the proposed observer-based control approach for multi-vehicle systems to handle communication delays or packet losses, several strategies can be employed. First, the design of the observers can incorporate delay compensation techniques. This can be achieved by modeling the communication delays as part of the system dynamics, allowing the observers to predict the state of the vehicles based on past measurements. For instance, a state predictor can be integrated into the observer design, which uses historical data to estimate the current state when new measurements are delayed.
Additionally, robust control techniques can be applied to ensure stability and performance despite packet losses. This involves designing the observer and controller to be resilient to missing data, possibly by employing techniques such as state estimation with missing measurements or using redundancy in the communication protocol. For example, implementing a consensus-based approach where vehicles can share their state estimates with multiple neighbors can mitigate the impact of packet losses.
Moreover, the use of event-triggered communication strategies can be beneficial. Instead of continuous data transmission, vehicles can communicate their states only when significant changes occur, reducing the likelihood of congestion and improving the reliability of the information exchanged. This approach can be combined with the Bearing Persistently Exciting (BPE) formation concept, ensuring that the formation remains stable even under communication constraints.

What are the potential limitations or drawbacks of the BPE formation concept, and how can it be further generalized or relaxed?

The BPE formation concept, while advantageous for enabling decentralized localization and control in multi-vehicle systems, has several limitations. One significant drawback is its reliance on the assumption that some inter-agent bearings are persistently exciting (PE). If the formation topology changes or if the vehicles experience dynamic environments that affect their relative bearings, maintaining the BPE condition can become challenging. This can lead to difficulties in ensuring the uniqueness of the formation configuration and the stability of the observer-based controllers.
Furthermore, the BPE formation may not guarantee global observability in all scenarios, particularly in configurations where the number of PE bearings is insufficient. This limitation can restrict the applicability of the BPE concept in larger or more complex formations.
To generalize or relax the BPE formation concept, researchers could explore hybrid approaches that combine BPE with other localization techniques, such as integrating range measurements or using additional sensors that provide complementary information. Additionally, relaxing the conditions on the graph topology required for BPE could enhance its applicability, allowing for more flexible formations that can adapt to changing environments or communication constraints.

What are the potential applications and real-world scenarios where the developed techniques could be particularly useful, and what additional challenges might arise in those contexts?

The observer-based formation tracking control techniques developed for multi-vehicle systems have numerous potential applications across various fields. One prominent application is in autonomous vehicle fleets, such as drones or ground robots, used for tasks like surveillance, search and rescue operations, and environmental monitoring. In these scenarios, the ability to maintain a formation while estimating positions and velocities based solely on relative bearings is crucial, especially in GPS-denied environments.
Another application is in precision agriculture, where fleets of autonomous vehicles can work together to monitor crops, apply fertilizers, or perform inspections. The observer-based control approach can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of these operations by enabling vehicles to coordinate their movements effectively.
However, several challenges may arise in these contexts. For instance, in dynamic environments, the relative bearings may change rapidly due to obstacles or varying terrain, complicating the localization and control processes. Additionally, communication constraints, such as delays or packet losses, can hinder the effectiveness of the proposed techniques, necessitating robust solutions to ensure reliable operation.
Moreover, safety and regulatory considerations must be addressed, particularly in applications involving autonomous vehicles operating in public spaces. Ensuring that the vehicles can respond appropriately to unexpected events or changes in their environment is critical for their safe deployment. Overall, while the developed techniques offer significant potential, careful consideration of these challenges is essential for successful real-world implementation.