Formation Control and Velocity Tracking for a Group of Nonholonomic Wheeled Robots

This technical note presents an integrated approach for formation control and velocity tracking of a group of nonholonomic wheeled robots. The solution is defined within the port-Hamiltonian framework, providing a clear interpretation of the results. The controller consists of a local nonlinear heading and velocity tracking controller combined with a distributed formation controller. The formation controller achieves formations by assigning virtual couplings in between the robots. Experimental results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.