Output-feedback control for stabilization on SE(3)

This paper addresses the problem of stabilizing systems that evolve on SE(3). The proposed solution consists of an output-feedback controller that guarantees almost global asymptotic stability (GAS) of the desired equilibrium point, i.e. the point is stable and, except for a set of zero measure, all initial conditions converge to it. The output vector is formed by the position coordinates, expressed in the body frame, of a collection of landmarks fixed in the environment. The resulting closed-loop system exhibits the following properties: i) the position error is globally exponentially stable and ii) the norm of the angle-axis of the error rotation matrix is monotonically decreasing almost everywhere. Results are also provided that allow one to select landmark configurations so as to control how the position and orientation of the rigid body converge to their desired values