Safety-Critical Formation Tracking Control of Multi-Robot Systems via CLF-CBF-QP

This paper proposes a novel Hierarchical Fallback Control Lyapunov Function–Control Barrier Function–Quadratic Program (HF-CLF-CBF-QP) framework for safety-critical formation tracking. Our approach employs a Control Lyapunov Function (CLF) for tracking and High-Order CBFs (HOCBFs) for comprehensive safety, including collision avoidance and physical constraints. The core contribution is a three-stage fallback strategy that resolves the critical issue of quadratic program (QP) infeasibility by systematically prioritizing safety over performance. This approach ensures controller feasibility, prevents deadlocks, and maintains computational efficiency comparable to the standard Control Lyapunov Function-Control Barrier Function-Quadratic Program (CLF-CBF-QP) methods. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.