Toward distributed control of networked omnidirectional automated ground vehicles in complex environment with delay communication

The utilization of multiple small-sized automated ground vehicles (AGVs) with omnidirectional movement for cooperative transportation of large objects in manufacturing and logistics is a growing area of research. Utilizing multiple AGVs can improve system flexibility and efficiency compared to using a single large AGV, particularly in clustered and narrow spaces. This study presents a control framework for multiple AGVs to cooperatively transport an object in a cluster environment. The framework utilizes the rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT^∗) algorithm to plan a feasible path through the environment, and a new distributed synchronization control algorithm for each AGV to track its desired trajectory and synchronize with its neighbors. The proposed control framework can be applied in cases with time-varying communication delays and networks with directed spanning tree connections, making it more versatile than existing synchronization control methods. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the proposed framework.