Control engineering

Automotive engineering

Engineering

Artificial intelligence

Control (management)

Programming language

Path (computing)

Tractor

Trailer

Computer science

Articulated vehicle

Control theory (sociology)

Truck

Motion planning

Robot

Journal of Field Robotics

Maneuvering a general 2‐trailer with a car‐like tractor in backward motion is a task that requires a significant skill to master and is unarguably one of the most complicated tasks a truck driver has to perform. This paper presents a path planning and path‐following control solution that can be used to automatically plan and execute difficult parking and obstacle avoidance maneuvers by combining backward and forward motion. A lattice‐based path planning framework is developed in order to generate kinematically feasible and collision‐free paths and a path‐following controller is designed to stabilize the lateral and angular path‐following error states during path execution. To estimate the vehicle state needed for control, a nonlinear observer is developed, which only utilizes information from sensors that are mounted on the car‐like tractor, making the system independent of additional trailer sensors. The proposed path‐planning and path‐following control framework is implemented on a full‐scale test vehicle and results from simulations and real‐world experiments are presented.

A path planning and path‐following control framework for a general 2‐trailer with a car‐like tractor