Control of a single robot in a cooperative multi-robot framework

In a versatile, intelligent, multirobot system, each robot is controlled by independent controllers and information obtained by a robot through proprioceptive sensing (joint position, velocity, torques etc.) is not shared with other robots. If the coordination of robots in a cooperative manipulation task is to be accomplished, each robot must be able to exhibit controlled interaction with other robots and objects with minimal information. The authors address the problem of maintaining rolling contact between am actively controlled mechanical linkage and an external moving surface, assuming that a nominal model of the gross motion of the moving surface is available. Thus the control problem involves a dynamic system that is acatastic and nonholonomic. Nonlinear feedback is used to decouple and linearize the time-varying system. Examples and results from computer simulations are used to show that the normal and tangential forces as well as the relative rolling motion can be controlled satisfactorily