This paper proposes a solution to achieve collision-free platooning control of input-constrained mobile robots. The platooning policy is based on a leader-follower approach where the leader tracks a reference trajectory while followers track the leader's pose with an inter-agent delay. First, the leader and the follower kinematic models are feedback linearized and the platoon's error dynamics and input constraints formally characterized. Then, a set-theoretic model predictive control strategy is proposed to address the platooning trajectory tracking control problem.  An ad-hoc collision avoidance policy is also proposed to guarantee collision avoidance amongst the agents. Finally, the properties and the results of the proposed control architecture are validated through experiments performed on a formation of Khepera IV differential drive robots. 

Authors: Suryaprakash Rajkumar, Cristian Tiriolo, and Walter Lucia, 2024 American Control Conference (ACC)