A formation control framework based on Lyapunov approach

A general control framework for a formation system composed of a team of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) considering the formation dynamics under static connection structure but subject to dynamic connection stability is proposed in this paper. Hence, a rigorous formation theory is obtained essentially based on the differential structure of the formation system. With this result, a case design using a Lyapunov based control complying with the proposed formation theory is provided to demonstrate the capability and feasibility of the proposed framework. Finally, the wander-mode simulation with three WMRs is conducted while the formation configuration may be changing on-line. It is believed that the present results can be further extended to many applications involving the nonlinear multi-agent system.