Consumption Minimization for a Car-like Robot with Quadratic Drag
Banchiamlak Kebede Negash, Nicolas Boizot · IFAC-PapersOnLine · 2025
This is a short note about an optimal control problem having a non-smooth cost function and nonlinear constraints. The mathematical problem under consideration is motivated by the minimization of the energy consumed by a car-like vehicle or robot along a path having a flat profile. The constraints are given by means of a simple model of the longitudinal dynamics that takes into account both rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. It is shown that the optimal trajectories consist of bang, inactivated, and singular arcs.