Theoretical Analysis and Systematic Comparison of Local Navigation Control Strategies in Semi-Structured Environments: A Systems Approach

This study benchmarks three ROS 2 Navigation2 local controllers—Dynamic Window Approach Based (DWB), Regulated Pure Pursuit (RPP), and Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI)—under three complementary operational stressors in simulation: (i) a structured corridor with a transient dynamic obstacle, (ii) a sloped environment where terrain inclination biases a planar 2D LiDAR costmap through spurious occupancy projections, and (iii) a narrow corridor that amplifies inflation effects. A reproducible rosbag2-based protocol records five key performance indicators per trial: time-to-goal, lateral tracking RMSE, stopped time, heading oscillations, and control effort. With 15 independent repetitions per cell (scene × controller × direction), the design yields 270 trials. The results expose complementary value profiles: RPP minimizes mission time, DWB produces the fewest heading oscillations through critic-based shaping, and MPPI achieves the lowest control effort via smooth trajectory generation. In the sloped scene, the tracking RMSE differences compress across all controllers—a signature of a perception-limited regime in which costmap bias overshadows controller logic. These findings translate into an actionable controller-selection guide and a reproducible baseline for quantifying gains from upstream perception and cost-representation improvements. In concrete terms, we contribute (i) a controlled benchmark with fixed planning, localization, and costmaps, (ii) full configuration disclosure (controller parameters, costmap settings, and software versions with package pinning), and (iii) a scene-specific costmap distortion index that links slope-induced local cost bias to measurable performance shifts, underpinning a decision matrix for controller selection in semi-structured environments.