Path tracking and backstepping control for a wheeled mobile robot (WMR) in a slipping environment

Abstract

Abstract This work studies the motion of a two-wheeled differential drive mobile robot by presenting the kinematic and dynamic model of a nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot (WMR) with and without slip effect. The traction forces are derived and a control law designed using the backstepping method to drive the WMR to the desired trajectory. The parameters of the kinematic and dynamic controllers are tuned and modified to reach the desired performance. In addition, the input torque is controlled to avoid slip occurring. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm that is demonstrated by applying these controllers at different case studies (circular trajectory, elliptical trajectory, sinusoidal trajectory, infinity trajectory, and line trajectory), these results show good matching between desired trajectory and simulation, while the errors converge to zero rapidly. It shows good performance in minimizing the overshoot and reducing energy and the transient response time.