Local path control for an autonomous vehicle

A control system for an autonomous robot cart designed to operate in well-structured environments such as offices and factories is described. The onboard navigation system comprises a reference-state generator, an error-feedback controller, and cart-location sensing using odometry. There is a convenient separation between the path guidance and control logic. Under normal operating conditions, the controller ensures that the errors between the measured and reference states are small. These errors only exceed set limits if the cart is malfunctioning. Major hardware failures can be detected in this way and failsafe procedures invoked. Results on the control system performance derived from a computer simulation of the cart and its operating environment, and from an experimental cart, indicate that the system can provide reliable, accurate, and safe operation.>