Robust Tracking of Curvature-Constrained Paths for Uncertain Dubins Systems

Abstract

This paper presents a robust tracking controller for tracking curvature-constrained paths by vehicles/robots with uncertain Dubins dynamics. Although Dubins paths have been widely used in vehicular and robotic applications, robust and convergent tracking under model uncertainties remains understudied. To address this, we propose path tracking controllers based on sliding mode control, formulated in the transverse coordinate frame, which guarantee invariance and convergence of both lateral and heading errors to zero in the presence of bounded disturbances. Simulation results show that the proposed method reliably tracks paths despite disturbances and significantly outperforms existing methods based on sliding mode controllers.