Reinforcement Learning-Based Control for Smooth and Accurate Circular Trajectory Tracking in Mobile Robots

Online First: 22/10/2026

Các tác giả

Email tác giả liên hệ:

ngunguyenviet77@gmail.com

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54644/jte.2026.2455

Từ khóa:

Mobile robot, Trajectory tracking, Reinforcement learning, Motion smoothness, Soft Actor-Critic

Tóm tắt

This paper investigates reinforcement learning-based control for smooth and accurate trajectory tracking of a nonholonomic mobile robot. Three reinforcement learning algorithms, Deep Q-Network (DQN), Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO), and Soft Actor-Critic (SAC), are implemented and evaluated, with conventional PID and Sliding Mode Control (SMC) controllers included as comparative baselines. The robot is modeled using unicycle kinematics, and the tracking task is formulated through body-frame longitudinal, lateral, and heading errors. A reward function is designed to penalize tracking errors, radial deviation, and excessive control effort while encouraging forward progression. Simulations are conducted primarily on a circular reference trajectory, with a figure-eight trajectory included for additional comparison. The results show that all controllers can follow the reference trajectories, although their tracking accuracy and motion smoothness differ. DQN exhibits noticeable control switching, while PPO produces smoother actions but retains tracking deviations. Among the evaluated controllers, SAC achieves lower tracking errors and smaller control variations. These findings suggest that SAC is a promising approach for accurate and smooth trajectory tracking in mobile robots.

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Tiểu sử của Tác giả

Le Thi Minh Tam, Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, Vietnam

Le Thi Minh Tam received the B.S. degree in Control and Automation Engineering from Thai Nguyen University of Technology, Vietnam, in 2000, and the Ph.D. degree in Control Engineering and Automation from the Military Technical Academy, Vietnam, in 2018. The author is affiliated with the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Hung Yen University of Technical and Education, Vietnam. The author's research interests include intelligent control systems, deep learning, robotics, and advanced control algorithm development.

Email: leminhtamutehy@gmail.com. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5147-5370.

Nguyen Viet Ngu, Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, Vietnam

Nguyen Viet Ngu received the B.S. degree in Agricultural and Rural Electrification from Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, Vietnam, in 2001, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Systems and Automation from Hohai University, Nanjing, China, in 2013. The author is affiliated with the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Hung Yen University of Technical and Education, Vietnam. The author's research interests include advanced power electronics control, renewable energy system optimization, robotics, and intelligent control methods.

Email: ngunguyenviet77@gmail.com. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6012-4846.

Nguyen Ba Dung, Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, Vietnam

Nguyen Ba Dung is currently pursuing graduate studies in Automation at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, Vietnam. The author's research interests include automation and control engineering.

Email: dungnguyen14012003@gmail.com. ORCID:  https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1976-9899.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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Tải xuống

Đã Xuất bản

2026-10-22

Cách trích dẫn

[1]
Le Thi Minh Tam, Nguyen Viet Ngu, và Nguyen Ba Dung, “Reinforcement Learning-Based Control for Smooth and Accurate Circular Trajectory Tracking in Mobile Robots: Online First: 22/10/2026”, JTE, tháng 10 2026.

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