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Modeling and control of mobile Robots

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  • Lecturer: Pascal Morin (pascal.morin@sorbonne-universite.fr)
  • Course code: MU5RBR40
  • Student workload: 14 h of lectures, 2 h of tutorials, 12 h of labs
  • Credits: 3 ECTS
  • Specialization tracks: ROBOT (elective) SI MeDH
  • Semester offered: S1 S2 S3 S4
  • Language of instruction: French English
  • Targeted audience: Eng. Sc. department Other : ENSAM
  • Localization : PMC Campus Other :

Course Overview

This course unit provides the fundamentals of modeling and controlling ground and aerial mobile robots. It focuses on wheeled ground robots, addressing path-following and trajectory-stabilization problems. For aerial robots, the focus is on multirotor drones and on control schemes ranging from teleoperation to autonomous flight.

Mots-clés : Kinematic model, dynamic model, path following, trajectory stabilization, state estimation, control-law design

Prerequisites

Students should have previously acquired the following prerequisites to follow this course:

  • Rigid-body kinematics, rigid-body dynamics (Newton-Euler equations, Lagrange equations)
  • Linear state-space control (controllability, observability, stability, linear state-feedback controller design, linear-observer design)

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Understand the different types of mobile robots, their fields of application and the associated research problems
  2. Understand the different mechanical structures of wheeled robots
  3. Determine the kinematic model of a wheeled mobile robot
  4. Understand the difference between path-following and trajectory-stabilization problems
  5. Implement controllers for path-following and trajectory-stabilization problems in simulation
  6. Understand different drone mechanical structures and their applications
  7. Write the dynamic model of a multirotor drone
  8. Understand different drone-control modes
  9. Implement controllers for stabilizing multirotor drones in simulation
  10. Understand state-estimation problems specific to multirotor drones
  11. Implement attitude estimators in simulation

Indicative Teaching Sequence and Methods

Week C/TD/TP* Content Preparation Learn.\ outc.
S1 CM (2x2h) General introduction / Modeling of wheeled robots (Part I) AAV1, AAV2
S2 CM (2h) + TD (2h) Modeling of wheeled robots (Part II) AAV3
S3 CM (2h) + TP (2h) Control of wheeled robots (path following + trajectory stabilization) / Practical View the slides "Trajectory stabilization of wheeled robots" AAV4, AAV5
S4 TP (4h) Graded Matlab/Simulink practical assignment Covers the previous week’s lecture AAV4, AAV5
S5 CM (2x2h) Drone structures and models. Control of multirotor drones AAV6, AAV7,AAV8
S6 CM (2h) + TP (2h) State estimation for drones / Numerical practical AAV9, AAV10
S7 TP (4h) Graded Matlab/Simulink practical assignment AAV11
  • C/TD/TP respectively corresponds to lectures, tutorials and lab sessions.

Sequence of the unit

The course unit has three parts: a general introduction to mobile robotics, a second part devoted to wheeled mobile robots, and a third part devoted to drones. At the end of Parts 2 and 3, a four-hour Matlab/Simulink practical assignment assesses students’ understanding of the relevant material. A final written examination covering the entire course verifies that the main concepts have been understood and assimilated.

Indicative Assessment of Intended Learning Outcomes (1st session)

Week Individ./group In-person/remote Type of exam Evaluated outcomes Scale %
S4 Individual In-person TP 25%
S7 Individual In-person TP 25%
S9 Individual In-person Written exam 50%

2nde session

Session Individ./group In-person/remote Type of exam Evaluated outcomes Scale %
2 Group In-person Written exam AAV 1-10 50%
1 Group In-person Quiz AAV1-8 50%

Logo SDI Date of generation of this unit description: 06/10/2026 Logo SDI