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In the past decade, the integration of spatiotemporal constraints into control systems has emerged as a crucial necessity, driven by the demand for enhanced performance, guaranteed safety, and the execution of complex tasks. Spatiotemporal constraints involve criteria that are dependent on both space and time, which can be represented by time-varying constraints in nonlinear control systems. Funnel-based control methods provide computationally tractable and robust feedback control laws to enforce time-varying constraints in uncertain nonlinear systems. This thesis begins by exploring the application of funnel-based control designs to address performance specifications in coordinate-free formation control of multi-agent systems. Moreover, we develop new robust feedback control schemes dealing with coupled spatiotemporal constraints in uncertain nonlinear systems that cannot be directly addressed by conventional funnel-based control methods. In the first part of the thesis, we present a novel coordinate-free formation control scheme for directed leader-follower multi-agent systems, exhibiting almost global convergence to the desired shape. The synthesis of fully decentralized robust controllers for agents is achieved through the application of the Prescribed Performance Control (PPC) method. This method imposes spatiotemporal funnel constraints on each agent's formation errors, ensuring a predefined transient and steady-state performance while maintaining robustness to system uncertainties. The core idea in this work is the utilization of bipolar coordinates to achieve orthogonal (decoupled) formation errors for each follower agent. This approach not only ensures the global convergence to the desired shape but also facilitates the effective application of the PPC method. In the second part of the thesis, first, we introduce a novel approach that extends funnel-based control schemes to deal with a specific class of time-varying hard and soft constraints. In this work, Under det senaste decenniet har integrationen av bivillkor i tid och rum för reglersystem framstått som en nödvändighet, driven av efterfrågan på förbättrad prestanda, garanterad säkerhet och utförandet av komplexa uppgifter. Bivillkor i tid och rum för icke-linjära reglersystem kan representeras av tidsvarierande bivillkor. Trattbaserade reglermetoder ("funnel-based control") tillhandahåller beräkningsmässigt hanterbara och robusta återkopplingslagar för att garantera tidsvarier-ande bivillkor i osäkra icke-linjära system. Denna avhandling börjar med att utforska tillämpningen av trattbaserade kontrollmetoder för att hantera prestanda-specifikationer i koordinatfri formationskontroll av multiagentsystem. Dessutom utvecklar vi nya robusta återkopplingslagar som hanterar kopplade bivillkor i tid och rum för osäkra icke-linjära system som inte direkt kan hanteras av konventionella trattbaserade kontrollmetoder. I den första delen av avhandlingen presenterar vi en ny koordinatfri formationskontrollmetod för riktade ledare-följare multiagentsystem, vilken uppvisar nästan global konvergens till den önskade formen. Syntesen av helt decentraliserade robusta regulatorer för agenter uppnås genom tillämpning av Prescribed Performance Control (PPC)-metoden. Denna metod lägger på trattbivillkor i tid och rum på varje agents formationsfel och säkerställer en fördefinierad transient och stationär prestanda samtidigt som robusthet mot systemosäkerheter bibehålls. Kärnan i detta arbete är användningen av bipolära koordinater för att uppnå ortogonala (frikopplade) formationsfel för varje följande agent. Detta tillvägagångssätt säkerställer inte bara global konvergens till den önskade formen utan underlättar också en effektiva tillämpning av PPC-metoden. I den andra delen av avhandlingen introducerar vi först ett nytt tillvägagångssätt som utökar trattbaserade kontrollmetoder för att hantera en specifik klass av tidsvar-ierande hårda och mjuka bivillkor. I detta arbete använder vi en, QC 20231229

This paper introduces a novel control framework to address the satisfaction of multiple time-varying output constraints in uncertain high-order MIMO nonlinear control systems. Unlike existing methods, which often assume that the constraints are always decoupled and feasible, our approach can handle coupled time-varying constraints even in the presence of potential infeasibilities. First, it is shown that satisfying multiple constraints essentially boils down to ensuring the positivity of a scalar variable, representing the signed distance from the boundary of the time-varying output-constrained set. To achieve this, a single consolidating constraint is designed that, when satisfied, guarantees convergence to and invariance of the time-varying output-constrained set within a user-defined finite time. Next, a novel robust and low-complexity feedback controller is proposed to ensure the satisfaction of the consolidating constraint. Additionally, we provide a mechanism for online modification of the consolidating constraint to find a least violating solution when the constraints become mutually infeasible for some time. Finally, simulation examples of trajectory and region tracking for a mobile robot validate the proposed approach., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, extended version

This work proposes a novel 2-D formation control scheme for acyclic triangulated directed graphs (a class of minimally acyclic persistent graphs) based on bipolar coordinates with (almost) global convergence to the desired shape. Prescribed performance control is employed to devise a decentralized control law that avoids singularities and introduces robustness against external disturbances while ensuring predefined transient and steady-state performance for the closed-loop system. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed formation control scheme can handle formation maneuvering, scaling, and orientation specifications simultaneously. Additionally, the proposed control law is implementable in agents’ arbitrarily oriented local coordinate frames using only low-cost onboard vision sensors, which are favorable for practical applications. Finally, a formation maneuvering simulation study verifies the proposed approach., QC 20231228

This work proposes a novel 2-D formation control scheme for acyclic triangulated directed graphs (a class of minimally acyclic persistent graphs) based on bipolar coordinates with (almost) global convergence to the desired shape. Prescribed performance control is employed to devise a decentralized control law that avoids singularities and introduces robustness against external disturbances while ensuring predefined transient and steady-state performance for the closed-loop system. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed formation control scheme can handle formation maneuvering, scaling, and orientation specifications simultaneously. Additionally, the proposed control law is implementable in agents' arbitrarily oriented local coordinate frames using only low-cost onboard vision sensors, which are favorable for practical applications. Finally, a formation maneuvering simulation study verifies the proposed approach.

This paper presents a novel control protocol for robust distance-based formation control with prescribed performance in which agents are subjected to unknown external disturbances. Connectivity maintenance and collision avoidance among neighboring agents are also handled by the appropriate design of certain performance bounds that constrain the inter-agent distance errors. As an extension to the proposed scheme, distance-based formation centroid maneuvering is also studied for disturbance-free agents, in which the formation centroid tracks a desired time-varying velocity. The proposed control laws are decentralized, in the sense that each agent employs local relative information regarding its neighbors to calculate its control signal. Therefore, the control scheme is implementable on the agents' local coordinate frames. Using rigid graph theory, input-to-state stability, and Lyapunov based analysis, the results are established for minimally and infinitesimally rigid formations in 2-D or 3-D space. Furthermore, it is argued that the proposed approach increases formation robustness against shape distortions and can prevent formation convergence to incorrect shapes, which is likely to happen in conventional distance-based formation control methods. Finally, extensive simulation studies clarify and verify the proposed approach.

In this paper, finite time rigidity-based formation maneuvering control of single integrator multiagent systems is considered. The target formation graph is assumed to be minimally and infinitesimally rigid, and the desired group velocity is considered to be available only to a subset of the agents. A distributed nonsmooth velocity estimator is used for each agent to estimate the desired group velocity in finite time. Using Lyapunov and input to state stability notions, a finite time distance-based formation maneuvering controller is presented and it is proved that by using the controller, agents converge to the target formation and track the desired group velocity in finite time. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the designed controller is implementable in local coordinate frames of the agents. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

This paper presents a new Modified Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm (MFOA) which is used to find the optimal PID controllers parameters applied to control a two-link robotic manipulator. The proposed new distribution law in MFOA for some of the fruit flies improves searching diversity in earlier iterations and increases solution precession in last iterations. In order to apply the PID controllers to the robot manipulator, a nonlinear feedback linearization control technique is employed which can fully linearize and decouple nonlinear robot's dynamics. Simulation results confirm that the MFOA-PID controller can achieve better closed-loop system responses with respect to the original FOA-PID controller.

This paper introduces a novel decentralized distance-based formation controller for multi-agent systems by imposing constraints on inter-agent distance errors. Using a Nonlinear Mapping Technique (NMT) for dealing with the distance errors constraints, the problems of connectivity maintenance and collision avoidance between neighboring agents are handled. Furthermore, the proposed control scheme increases formation robustness and prevents convergence of the formation to incorrect shapes when external effects such as disturbances exist. Using Lyapunov based analysis the results are proved for both single and double integrator agent models where the target formation is minimally and infinitesimally rigid in 2-D or 3-D space.