Int. J. Vehicle Autonomous Systems, Vol. 9, Nos. 3/4, 2011 203 Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Leader–follower tracking control design for task-based missions Elżbieta Jarzębowska Institute of Aeronautics and Applied Mechanics, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, Nowowiejska 24 str., Poland E-mail: elajarz@meil.pw.edu.pl Abstract: The paper develops a control theoretic leader-to-follower framework for performing task-based missions. It enables tracking trajectories and other task-based motions. Its modular architecture enables switching between controllers for a leader and followers as well as changing followers based on a specified mission. The framework is based on the model reference tracking control strategy for programmed motion. Initially, the strategy is developed for a single mobile robot. Its modular structure enables its extension to collaborating robots. Keywords: nonholonomic systems tracking; leader–follower tracking; tracking control of nonholonomic systems; task-based missions. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Jarzębowska, E. (2011) ‘Leader–follower tracking control design for task-based missions’, Int. J. Vehicle Autonomous Systems, Vol. 9, Nos. 3/4, pp.203–218. Biographical notes: E. Jarzębowska received the BS, MS, PhD and DSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology. Her fields of research and teaching include dynamics of multibody systems, non-linear control theory of nonholonomic systems, geometric control theory and robotics. She has been involved in research projects for the Automotive Research Centre and the Engineering Research Centre for Reconfigurable Machining Systems at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, in 1998–1999. In 1999–2001, she worked for Ford Motor Company Research Laboratories, Dearborn, MI. She is a member of ASME, IEEE, GAMM, IFToMM Technical Committee of Mechatronics and International SAR. 1 Introduction A leader–follower system may consist of two or several mobile vehicles, which are coordinated to achieve complex tasks such as search or rescue in hazardous environment, distributed manipulation, exploration and transportation of large objects (Jennings et al., 1997; Nguyen et al., 2003). The leader–follower system or a robot formation may work more efficiently in a shorter time than a single robot. The formation members may be low complexity robots, since each of them can be specialised in one specific task like navigation or manipulation. There is a variety of control problems that may be formulated for robot formations. They motivate and determine ways in which these problems are approached.