Dynamic feedback control of vehicles with two steerable wheels

Abstract

The kinematic modeling and feedback control of a mobile robot/vehicle with two independently steerable wheels is studied. Two-wheel steer vehicles are highly maneuverable in confined space and their orientation can be made independent of the position trajectory. However, the control of such vehicle is less intuitive and difficult. A dynamic feedback control algorithm is developed, which enables the vehicle to move from any initial configuration (position and orientation) to any final configuration. It is also shown that the same cannot be achieved by any static feedback controller. Simulation results are presented to verify the independent control of the two position variables and the orientation variable.