Approximate Posture Increment Control for the Targeting Task of Differential Drive Robots

Differential drive robots (DDRs) are an effective and efficient solution for many mobile robotics applications. These kind of robots are a type of mobile robots that are characterized by their use of two independently controlled wheels. DDRs are highly maneuverable, as they can rotate in a narrow space, move sideways, and make tight turns. This makes them ideal for applications that require precise positioning and navigation, such as inspection, exploration, and search and rescue. Therefore, most of the research focuses on tracking problems in which information of the reference trajectories are known. Different from the typical Laypunov based DDR's tracking control algorithm, a targeting control task which focuses on pointing and chasing a target point using only the target position is presented. Considering an approximated discrete time representation of DDR dynamics, a simple targeting scheme is proposed in the form of the so-called approximate pose increment control (APIC). Based on the proposed method, the use of coordinate transformation as well as a Lyapunov function are no longer needed to achieve the desired control goal. Simulations demonstrate multiple targeting courses to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed APIC algorithm.