STABILIZATION OF NONHOLONOMIC VEHICLES UNDER KINEMATIC CONSTRAINTS

Equivalence between different kinematic models of non-holonomic vehicl es is established. Non-holonomic vehicles are shown to be kinematicall y equivalent to unicycles. A generalized unicycle model is used for st abilization purposes. Globally stabilizing control laws under the pres ence of kinematic control constraints are derived. The control laws ar e based on the invariant manifold technique, a control strategy where non-holonomic systems are steered onto manifolds of global and relativ e local-local controllability. Convergence of the proposed closed-loop strategies are verified by simulations.