On the tracking and interception of a moving object by a wheeled mobile robot

This paper deals with the problem of tracking and interception of an object moving with unknown maneuvers by a wheeled mobile robot. We design a closed loop control law based on a guidance strategy for this purpose. The guidance strategy uses geometrical rules combined with the kinematics equations, where the robot´s angular velocity is equal to the rate of turn of the line of sight angle. In some situations it is necessary to use a heading regulation phase in order to put the robot´s linear velocity on the line of sight and apply the guidance strategy. In the presence of obstacles, two navigation modes are used, namely tracking mode and obstacle avoidance mode. Simulation examples show the efficiency of the method.