Kinematic path-tracking of mobile robot using iterative learning control

This paper develops a kinematic path-tracking algorithm for a nonholonomic mobile robot using an iterative learning control (ILC) technique. The proposed algorithm produces a robot velocity command, which is to be executed by the proper dynamic controller of the robot. The difference between the velocity command and the actual velocity acts as state disturbances in the kinematic model of the mobile robot. Given the kinematic model with state disturbances, we present an ILC-based path-tracking algorithm. An iterative learning rule with both predictive and current learning terms is used to overcome uncertainties and the disturbances in the system. It shows that the system states, outputs, and control inputs are guaranteed to converge to the desired trajectories with or without state disturbances, output disturbances, or initial state errors. Simulations and experiments using an actual mobile robot verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed learning algorithm. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.