A simple tractor-trailer backing control law for path following with side-slope compensation

Abstract

Backing of a tractor-trailer system is a problem addressed in many literatures. It is usually solved using various nonlinear-based control methods, which are often not easy to implement or tune and do not consider the influence of side-slope. We propose a two-tier controller that is simple and intuitive, which directly controls the curvature of the trailer's trajectory. It allows the control input to be more directly related to path specification and handles path curvature discontinuity better. A side-slope compensator is designed upon the simple controller to prevent side-slope from deteriorating tracking performance. Experimental results are provided to illustrate the capability of this new algorithm applied to a full scale autonomous vehicle and trailer system in a real field environment using minimal sensing capability. Performance comparison between the compensated and uncompensated systems is also presented. Results demonstrate good performance on modest side-slope.

A Simple Curvature-Based Backward Path-Tracking Control for a Mobile Robot with N Trailers

“…Extensive studies in the literature have explored the modeling of truck-trailer systems, categorizing kinematic models based on the steering mechanisms of the front wheels into differential-driven [3][4][5][6] and car-like models [7][8][9][10]. Furthermore, kinematic models differ in their primary hitching configurations: on-axle (or direct-hooked) systems, where the hitch is centrally positioned on the rear axle of the tractor or the preceding trailer [10][11][12][13], and off-axle (or off-hooked) systems, where the hitch is located behind the rear axle [7,9,14,15]. Figure 1 illustrates a simplified schematic of these models.…”

“…Considering that safety is often prioritized over rapid dynamic performance in reversing scenarios, this separation of control is considered appropriate. The control problems associated with the truck-trailer system can be categorized into three distinct types: simple tracking [21,22], path tracking [9,10,14,15,23,24], and trajectory tracking [25][26][27][28][29][30]. Simple tracking entails the following of a defined geometric path, such as a circle or straight line, without the requirement to adhere to specific trajectory details.…”

“…The simulation results indicate the superior performance of RT-controls, especially in curve-path following in both directions. Leng discusses a curvature-based method for path tracking, involving the computation of desired tracking curvature and the design of directional control inputs [9,14,15]. Furthermore, Manav has developed an adaptive pure pursuit controller, which was proven to be effective and robust through simulation and experimental validation [31].…”

Orientation tracking control of mobile robot with three trailers

“…In [13], Yoo adopts a new mechanical structure that the passive trailers are linked to the front bumper of the tractor and proposes a trailer-pushing control algorithm to track straight and circular reference path. A two-tier backing controller combined with a side-slope compensator is developed for a car-like experimental vehicle with a off-axle trailer to track a path consisting straight line and curve arc in [14]. Khalaji proposes a robust adaptive feedback linearizing dynamic controller to track the reference trajectory planned corresponding to the kinematic model of the mobile robot [15].…”

Design of an Automatically Tuned Fuzzy Controller for a Truck and Multitrailer System

“…In the work reported in [14], a virtual articulated vehicle was inserted into the trailer chain to facilitate the control for reverse trajectory tracking. It has also been highlighted [15] that the trajectory curvature also plays an important role in the tracking performance of a truck-trailer system. Moreover, an alternative approach based on geometry features of the trucktrailer kinematics was proposed [16].…”