Nonlinear Smith-predictor based control strategy for a unicycle mobile robot subject to transport delay

This paper consider the remote control of an unicycle mobile robot subject to transport delay. The communication delay effects are considered by means of a discrete time approach that allows to solve the path tracking problem in terms of the delayed input. The causality problem involved in the proposed solution is carried out by considering an extension to the nonlinear case of the well known Smith predictor compensator that allows the implementation of the noncausal feedback. The performance of the tracking strategy is evaluated by means of numerical simulations.