Actuator fault-tolerant control allocation for cooperative transportation of multiple omnidirectional mobile robots

In this paper, we propose a fault detection, fault isolation, and control reconfiguration (FDIR) for multiple automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to accomplish object transportation under actuator failures. Firstly, the observers are designed for the AGVs to detect any occurring faults in actuators. Secondly, banks of observers are employed to isolate the broken actuators. Finally, according to the isolation results, the controllers are reconfigured to accommodate the faults. The stability of the proposed methods is verified using the Lyapunov technique. It is worth noting that the proposed FDIR method considers the uncertainties in system dynamics, enhancing its practicality and convenience for implementation. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via both numerical and experimental examples involving multiple omnidirectional AGVs experiencing actuator faults.