Nonreversible motion of a system of interacting bodies along a rough horizontal straight line (Q6178151)

This work considers the problem of controlling the position of a set of multiple interacting bodies, starting from an initial zero displacement (and velocity) position, to a final position, along a straight line, under the constraint that the bodies do not change the direction of their motion. The friction considered is Coulomb dry friction. So in essence this is an optimal control problem. The authors address the problem in a fluent manner, following knowledge of Newton's laws, and multibody interacting mechanical systems. So any reader with a background in mechanical engineering and modeling can follow the proof, not requiring a background on optimal control.