Curvature-Constrained Motion Planning and Control for Traffic Cone Manipulation Robot

Publication Name: Proceedings of the International Conference on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics

Publication Date: 2025-01-01

Volume: 2

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 317-324

Description:

This paper presents an integrated system for traffic cone manipulation using a heavy-duty mobile robot equipped with GNSS-RTK localization, a custom remote supervision and mission control interface, and a curvature-constrained motion controller. Designed for use in semi-structured outdoor environments, the robot receives waypoint and speed commands via a tailored extension of Foxglove Studio, which enables intuitive map-based interaction and real-time trajectory editing. Owning to its high payload capacity, the platform prioritizes stability over maneuverability, thus, it cannot change orientation without longitudinal movement. To address this, we propose a smooth, curvature-based controller that enforces a minimum turning radius while following pose and heading goals. The system architecture is built on Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2), leveraging modular nodes for map visualization, path planning, motion execution, and action triggering. Our experiments demonstrate the system’s ability to navigate complex waypoint paths and pause precisely at mission-dictated locations, more specifically cone placement locations. Our results show that even under turning constraints, the robot reliably executes full cone manipulation routines with high spatial accuracy and operational safety. The system highlights the feasibility of pairing high-level operator interfaces with low-level kinematic-aware planning for constrained robotic platforms.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.5220/0013720700003982

Authors - 2