Teleoperation of a cluster of mobile robots subject to model uncertainty

This paper considers the teleoperation of a cluster of mobile robots that are required to follow a desired trajectory while maintaining a desired rigid formation pattern. The centroid of the robot formation is modeled as a virtual robot. Distributed control laws designed using a backstepping method are proposed for each robot with the aid of neighbors' information. It is shown that the motion of the centroid of the cluster of robots is synchronized to that of the virtual robot. The theoretical results are validated by simulations on a cluster of five mobile robots.