ABSTRACT
The driving subsystem of a mobile robot is responsible for making it follow a desired path with sufficient precision and safety. This chapter introduces three subsystems: a desired-state generator that specifies a viable sequence of states to lead the robot through a desired path; a robot state estimator that can be used to estimate deviations of the robot from the desired trajectory; and a steering algorithm that evaluates estimated states relative to desired states to compute and execute corrective actions. The chapter also introduces state estimation, starting with simple odometry and extending to use of Global Positioning System (GPS) and LIDAR. It considers linear controller acting on a hypothetical linear system. The chapter evaluates the consequences of attempting use of a linear controller on a more realistic model of the robot. When creating a robot operating system (ROS) interface to a vehicle, there are two essential needs: a means to command motion and a means to report back estimated state.
