基于扰动补偿的林果园轮式机器人ENMPC轨迹跟踪方法

    ENMPC Trajectory Tracking Method for Orchard Wheeled Robots Based on Disturbance compensation

    • 摘要: 针对自主林果园轮式机器人在复杂作业环境中易受外部扰动与模型参数不确定性影响,导致控制精度下降的问题,本文提出一种基于非线性扰动观测器(nonlinear disturbance observer,NDOB)的预测精度增强显式非线性模型预测控制(explicit nonlinear model predictive control,ENMPC)算法。首先,在理想运动学模型中引入农业地形常见的车轮滑移与转向滑移扰动效应,构建扩展运动学模型。在假设所有外部扰动均可测的前提下,通过泰勒级数展开近似滚动时域内的跟踪误差,推导ENMPC的显式解析解,无需实时求解优化问题。然后设计NDOB实时估计并补偿系统外部扰动与不确定性,并严格证明了所提复合控制器的稳定性。与传统的前馈补偿策略不同,该算法将扰动估计直接集成到输出预测模型中,从而实现零稳态偏差控制。仿真结果表明,该算法能够有效抑制多类扰动信号,显著提升轨迹跟踪控制精度与鲁棒性。场地试验表明,在林间草地环境下,与NMPC算法相比,所提出的NDOB-ENMPC算法在横、纵向的最大绝对偏差分别降低了39.42%和49.01%,平均绝对偏差分别降低了29.45%和44.01%,平均求解时间减少了97.47%。与前馈补偿NMPC算法相比,所提出的NDOB-ENMPC算法在横、纵向的最大绝对偏差分别降低了17.86%和37.64%,平均绝对偏差分别降低了16.41%和20.59%,平均求解时间减少了97.57%。该算法可满足林果园轮式机器人自主导航的实时性与精度需求,为复杂农业环境下低成本部署最优控制策略提供了有效解决方案。

       

      Abstract: Autonomous wheeled robots operating in orchard and forestry environments are required to achieve accurate trajectory tracking under complex and uncertain working conditions. In practical agricultural scenarios, external disturbances and model parameter uncertainties caused by uneven terrain, soft soil, and frequent steering maneuvers significantly degrade control performance, particularly when wheel slip and steering-induced slip occur. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a prediction-accuracy-enhanced explicit nonlinear model predictive control (ENMPC) algorithm integrated with a nonlinear disturbance observer (NDOB) for autonomous orchard wheeled robots. An extended kinematic model is first established by incorporating typical disturbance effects in agricultural field environments, including wheel slip and steering slip, into an ideal kinematic framework. Based on this model, the trajectory tracking error dynamics over a finite receding horizon are approximated using a Taylor series expansion. Under the assumption that external disturbances are measurable, an explicit analytical control law of the ENMPC is derived offline, eliminating the need for online nonlinear optimization. As a result, the proposed controller significantly reduces computational complexity and ensures deterministic real-time performance, which is critical for embedded agricultural robotic systems with limited computing resources. To enhance robustness against time-varying disturbances and modeling uncertainties, a nonlinear disturbance observer is designed to estimate and compensate for external disturbances in real time. Unlike conventional feedforward compensation strategies, where disturbance estimates are treated as additional corrective inputs, the proposed approach directly integrates the disturbance estimation into the output prediction model of the ENMPC. This unified formulation enables the predicted system outputs to explicitly account for disturbance effects within the prediction horizon, thereby achieving zero steady-state offset in trajectory tracking. The closed-loop stability of the resulting NDOB-ENMPC controller is rigorously analyzed, and stability is formally guaranteed under bounded disturbance conditions. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method under multiple disturbance scenarios, including constant disturbances, time-varying disturbances, and combined slip effects. The results demonstrate that the NDOB-ENMPC algorithm effectively suppresses disturbance influences and achieves superior trajectory tracking accuracy and robustness compared with conventional nonlinear model predictive control schemes. Field experiments are further performed using an autonomous orchard wheeled robot operating in a forest grassland environment. Experimental results show that, compared with a standard NMPC algorithm, the proposed NDOB-ENMPC reduces the maximum absolute lateral and longitudinal tracking errors by 39.42% and 49.01%, respectively, while the corresponding mean absolute errors are reduced by 29.45% and 44.01%. In addition, the average computation time is reduced by 97.47%. Compared with a feedforward-compensated NMPC algorithm, the proposed approach reduces the maximum absolute lateral and longitudinal errors by 17.86% and 37.64%, respectively, and the mean absolute errors by 16.41% and 20.59%, while achieving a 97.57% reduction in average computation time. These results indicate that the proposed NDOB-ENMPC algorithm satisfies the stringent requirements of real-time implementation, high tracking accuracy, and robustness for autonomous navigation of wheeled robots in complex orchard environments. The proposed method provides an effective and computationally efficient solution for deploying optimal control strategies on low-cost agricultural robotic platforms and offers strong potential for practical applications in intelligent orchard and forestry operations.

       

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