Adaptive Time-Varying Formation Maneuvering Control for Multi-Robot Systems in Complex Obstacle-Rich Environments

To tackle the challenge of time-varying formation control for underactuated robots under model parameter uncertainties and environmental disturbances, this study proposes an affine formation control approach enhanced by an Extended State Observer. Initially, using affine positioning theory and polynomial interpolation, guidelines for selecting leader vehicles and trajectory planning methods are established, whereby the trajectory of follower vehicles is uniquely determined through the stress matrix. To address the cumulative disturbances arising from model uncertainties and environmental factors impacting the formation, an Extended State Observer with optimized parameters is introduced. Furthermore, a distributed affine formation control method with disturbance rejection is designed specifically for underactuated robots with “nonlinear, strongly coupled” dynamics, ensuring that the formation system can track the target configuration within bounded error margins. Finally, theoretical analysis and simulation outcomes ultimately confirm the efficacy of the control approach in achieving resilient formation tracking.