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Safe Navigation on Path-Following Tasks: A Study of MPC-based Collision Avoidance Schemes in Distributed Robot Systems

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  • Published: 27 November 2024
  • Volume 110, article number 166, (2024)
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Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript
Safe Navigation on Path-Following Tasks: A Study of MPC-based Collision Avoidance Schemes in Distributed Robot Systems
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  • Arthur da C. Vangasse  ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0009-1758-56351,
  • Elias J. R. Freitas  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6986-06021,2 na1,
  • Guilherme V. Raffo  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1835-83801,3 na1 &
  • …
  • Luciano C. A. Pimenta  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6385-12491,3 na1 

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  • 1 Citation

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Abstract

This work aims to enable distributed robot systems to follow time-varying paths safely. Artificial Vector Fields offer a viable alternative for addressing path-following challenges, yet collision avoidance among agents guided by such fields remains an open problem. To address this, we have designed a Model Predictive Control (MPC) setup that integrates an Artificial Vector Field reference with prominent collision avoidance methods, such as Optimal Reciprocal Collision Avoidance (ORCA) and Control Barrier Functions (CBF), to produce real-time, safe solutions. Our work involves a direct comparison between different MPC-based collision avoidance methods, and we have obtained results from various simulation scenarios as well as experiments on real robotic systems (Crazyflie 2.1). We aim to assess the applicability and limitations of these techniques through extracted metrics and insights.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil (CAPES) through the Academic Excellence Program (PROEX) and by the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Minas Gerais - Campus Ibirité. This work was also supported in part by the project INCT (National Institute of Science and Technology) under the grant CNPq (Brazilian National Research Council) 465755/2014-3 and FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) 2014/50851-0, CNPq (grant numbers 407063/2021-8, 309925/2023-1, 317058/2023-1, and 422143/2023-5), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), under grant number APQ-0063023.

Funding

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÍvel Superior (CAPES); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÍıfico e Tecnológico (CNPq).

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Author notes

  1. Elias J. R. Freitas, Guilherme V. Raffo and Luciano C. A. Pimenta are contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Electrical Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Arthur da C. Vangasse, Elias J. R. Freitas, Guilherme V. Raffo & Luciano C. A. Pimenta

  2. Area of Control and Automation, Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, IFMG, R. Mato Grosso, 02, 32407-190, Ibirité, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Elias J. R. Freitas

  3. Department of Electronic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Guilherme V. Raffo & Luciano C. A. Pimenta

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  1. Arthur da C. Vangasse
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Contributions

General work conduction: Arthur Vangasse and Luciano Pimenta; Conceptualization: Arthur Vangasse, Elias Freitas, Guilherme Raffo and Luciano Pimenta; Code Implementation: Arthur Vangasse and Elias Freitas; Simulation Methodology: Arthur Vangasse; Experimental Methodology: Arthur Vangasse; Conceived Images and Graphics: Arthur Vangasse and Elias Freitas; Work supervision: Luciano Pimenta and Guilherme Raffo; All authors wrote and reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arthur da C. Vangasse.

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da C. Vangasse, A., J. R. Freitas, E., V. Raffo, G. et al. Safe Navigation on Path-Following Tasks: A Study of MPC-based Collision Avoidance Schemes in Distributed Robot Systems. J Intell Robot Syst 110, 166 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-024-02202-3

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  • Received: 02 May 2024

  • Accepted: 11 November 2024

  • Published: 27 November 2024

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-024-02202-3

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Keywords

  • Multi-Robot Systems
  • Collision Avoidance
  • Distributed Robot Systems
  • Model Predictive Control (MPC)
  • Optimal Reciprocal Collision Avoidance (ORCA)
  • Control Barrier Functions (CBF)
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