Guiding vector fields for robot motion control

Using a designed vector field to guide robots to follow a given geometric desiredpath has found a range of practical applications, such as underwater pipelineinspection, warehouse navigation and highway traffic monitoring. It is thus ingreat need to build a rigorous theory to guide practical implementations withformal guarantees. It is even so when multiple robots are required to followpredefined desired paths or maneuver on surfaces and coordinate their motionsto efficiently accomplish repetitive and laborious tasks.

In this thesis, we propose and study a specific class of vector field, calledguiding vector fields, for single-robot and multi-robot path following and motion coordination. In Part I of the thesis, we derive extensive theoreticalresults. And then in Part II, we elaborate on how to apply the guiding vectorfield with variations in practical applications.

Dissertation: http://hdl.handle.net/11370/358a3560-2dad-4608-8247-126f7d568c4a