On-line approximation of control programs for a class of nonlinear free-floating systems

We consider the problem of nonholonomic motion planning. We present an efficient paradigm for planning and stabilization of motion in a class of multivariable nonlinear (nonholonomic) systems, and apply this control paradigm to a planar free-flying manipulator. The controller architecture designed in the paper is based on the radial basis function (RBF) network approximation of an optimal control program for any desired motion and sampled-data feedback stabilization. The proposed RBF-based control technique overcomes certain problems associated with other control approaches recently proposed for nonholonomic systems. The presented simulation results reveal a promising potential of the proposed control paradigm. This paradigm can be extended to a broader class of nonlinear control problems.