Maximum velocity trajectory planning for mobile robots considering wheel velocity limit

This paper presents a maximum velocity trajectory planning algorithm for differential mobile robots with wheel velocity constraint to cope with physical limits in the joint space for two-wheeled mobile robots (TMR). In previous research, the convolution operator was able to generate a central velocity that deals with the physical constraints of a mobile robot while considering the heading angles along a smooth curve in terms of time-dependent parameter. However, the velocity could not track the predefined path. An algorithm is proposed to compensate an error that occurs between the actual and driven distance by the velocity of the center of a TMR within a sampling time. The velocity commands in Cartesian space are also converted to actuator commands to drive two wheels. In the case that the actuator commands exceed the maximum velocity the trajectory is redeveloped with the compensated center velocity. The new center velocity is obtained according to the curvature of the path to provide a maximum allowable velocity meaning a time-optimal trajectory. The effectiveness of the algorithm is shown through numerical examples.