Leader-Follower Formation Control of Non-holonomic Robots with Collision Avoidance by Using Artificial Potential Field

This paper focuses on the leader-follower formation control scenario for nonholonomic robots based on a multi-robot system. Also, artificial potential field was presented and used to achieve obstacles avoidance. The goal of the robots is to form a formation and avoid the obstacles while they are moving in an area. The followers are able to track the desired path to realize the formation by getting the position, heading angle and velocity information of the leader, Meanwhile, by using the method artificial potential field, the robots would avoid any obstacles that are within their way to keep the formation that they form. Lyapunov function is utilized to analyze to the stability of the multi-robot system and prove the convergence of the position and heading angle errors of every follower. The simulations in ROS2 (Robot Operating System) along with GAZEBO showed that the controller that designed in the paper is able to achieve the formation and collision avoidance goal.