Equilibrium-Driven Smooth Separation and Navigation of Marsupial Robotic Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces an equilibrium-driven control method for marsupial robotic systems that enables smooth separation and navigation of the passenger robot to a target, using potential gradients and multiple equilibrium points.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel equilibrium-driven controller with potential gradients for smooth separation and navigation in marsupial robotic systems, enhancing adaptability and obstacle handling.

Findings

Effective separation and navigation demonstrated in simulations.

Controller adapts to obstacle-rich environments.

Multiple equilibrium points facilitate smooth transitions.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an equilibrium-driven controller that enables a marsupial carrier-passenger robotic system to achieve smooth carrier-passenger separation and then to navigate the passenger robot toward a predetermined target point. Particularly, we design a potential gradient in the form of a cubic polynomial for the passenger's controller as a function of the carrier-passenger and carrier-target distances in the moving carrier's frame. This introduces multiple equilibrium points corresponding to the zero state of the error dynamic system during carrier-passenger separation. The change of equilibrium points is associated with the change in their attraction regions, enabling smooth carrier-passenger separation and afterwards seamless navigation toward the target. Finally, simulations demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of the proposed controller in environments containing obstacles.