Control of a single robot in a decentralized multi-robot system

In a decentralized multi-robot system, each robot is controlled by an independent controller and the information obtained by each robot through its proprioceptive sensing devices is not shared with other robots. If the coordination of multiple robots in a cooperative manipulation task is to be accomplished, each robot must be able to exhibit controlled interaction with other robots and objects with minimal information. In this paper, the authors address the problem of maintaining rolling contact between a robot arm and an external, moving object. The authors assume that a nominal model of the motion of the moving object is available. The dynamic system that characterizes the motion of the robot arm and the moving object is acatastatic and nonholonomic. The authors design a nonlinear feedback for such a system that successfully maintains rolling contact. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the system