Hybrid Potential Field Based Control of Differential Drive Mobile Robots

This paper suggests a new way for nonholonomic mobile robots to navigate in obstacle environments using potential fields based on navigation functions. The proposed strategy is a time-invariant feedback control design with the distinguishing feature that it requires almost no switching compared to alternative methodologies of the same nature. Asymptotic convergence with collision avoidance for the proposed approach is established analytically, and the method is demonstrated on a differential-drive skid steering mobile robot.