Comparison of Tuning Techniques for PID Controllers in Mobile Robots Using the Empirical Method and the Firefly Metaheuristic Algorithm

• Lucas Marchesan da Silva UFSM http://orcid.org/0009-0000-4507-2014
• Enzo Fernando Simão Costa UFSM
• João Pedro Azenha Righi UFSM
• Lucas Teles UFSM
• Thássio Gomes Silva UFSM
• Daniel Fernando Tello Gamarra UFSM
• Anselmo Cukla UFSM

Resumo

Trajectory tracking remains a fundamental chal-lenge in mobile robotics, particularly for non-holonomic differential-drive robots such as those used in the IEEE Very Small Size Soccer (VSSS) competition. This work investigates and compares two control tuning approaches aimed at improving the performance of a VSSS robot in following a predefined path: the Firefly Metaheuristic Algorithm (FMA) and a traditional empirical method. The Bernoulli Lemniscate is adopted as the reference trajectory due to its variable curvature and suitability as a benchmark path in motion control tasks. Simulations in a virtual VSSS environment were conducted to evaluate tracking accuracy and system responsiveness under both strate-gies. Results show that FMA-based tuning leads to significant improvements in trajectory adherence and system stability. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how systematic optimization methods can enhance control performance in small-scale autonomous robotic systems.

Palavras-chave: Accuracy, Systematics, Trajectory tracking, Metaheuristics, Robot sensing systems, Stability analysis, Trajectory, Mobile robots, Tuning, Sports, Mobile Robots, PID Controller, Firefly Algorithm, Metaheuristic Optimization, Trajectory Tracking