Implementation of Time-Varying Controllers for a Nonholonomic Mobile Robot: Experimental Studies

Abstract: We consider a kinematic model of a wheeled mobile robot controlled by translational and angular velocities. For this class of nonholonomic systems, a family of time-varying feedback controllers was proposed in our previous works using gradient flow approximation techniques. In the present study, these controllers are implemented on a TurtleBot3 Burger (TB3) mobile robot to provide experimental validation of the stabilization problem with oscillating input signals. In addition, the admissibility problem of a gradient flow is investigated to justify the construction of a Lyapunov function candidate. The presented experimental results demonstrate the possibility of stabilizing the reference position of the robot using feedback controls with practically acceptable parameters.