Cooperative Control of the UGV Formation in Complex and Dynamic Environments

The cooperative control of the unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) formation is crucial for improving the efficiency and safety of intelligent transportation systems. Considering their complex and dynamic operating environments, the scene-adaptive switching control algorithm is proposed to address this challenge. Firstly, for the obstacle avoidance of a single UGV within a formation, a dynamic window approach that can adjust the weight of the formation function in real time is presented. By minimizing the deviation between the desired formation position and the actual position, a single UGV can quickly recover the original formation after completing local obstacle avoidance. For the cooperative obstacle avoidance of multiple UGVs, a multi-layer hierarchical obstacle avoidance strategy is designed, which is based on the constraints such as obstacle threat level and density. Furthermore, an improved consensus algorithm is used to achieve rapid reconfiguration of the formation, and a target factor is introduced into the leader-follower algorithm to ensure that the UGVs reach the target position smoothly. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that the multi-vehicle system can dynamically avoid obstacles, quickly maintain formation, and reconfigure formation.