Second-order sliding mode control for nonholonomic mobile robots formation

In this paper, we propose decentralized nonholonomic algorithms for mobile robots formation control via second-order sliding mode control. The problem of formation control is solved by keeping separated distances and bearing desired angles between the leader robot and follower robots. Stability of the orientation of the follower robots is achieved by means of a (l - ψ)-based algorithm. We also develop a (l - l)-based algorithm to control the distances between the leader and followers for a formation. The proposed controllers are smooth, continuous, and robust against unknown bounded sensor installation errors. An illustrative example is presented to verify the effectiveness of the approach.