A Robust, Multiple Control Barrier Function Framework for Input Constrained Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new Type-II zeroing control barrier function that broadens applicability to complex systems, ensuring safety and input constraints through a robust control law, demonstrated in unicycle navigation.

Contribution

It presents a generalized ZCBF framework and a locally Lipschitz control law for multiple safety constraints under input limitations.

Findings

Enhanced safety guarantees for passivity-based systems

Control law respects input constraints while handling multiple ZCBFs

Successful application in obstacle-rich unicycle navigation

Abstract

We propose a novel (Type-II) zeroing control barrier function (ZCBF) for safety-critical control, which generalizes the original ZCBF approach. Our method allows for applications to a larger class of systems (e.g. passivity-based) while still ensuring robustness, for which the construction of conventional ZCBFs is difficult. We also propose a locally Lipschitz continuous control law that handles multiple ZCBFs, while respecting input constraints, which is not currently possible with existing ZCBF methods. We apply the proposed concept for unicycle navigation in an obstacle-rich environment.