Follow the Past: a path-tracking algorithm for autonomous vehicles

Abstract

A number of algorithms for path tracking are described in the robotics literature. Traditional algorithms, like Pure Pursuit and Follow the Carrot, use position information to compute steering commands that make a vehicle follow a predefined path approximately. These algorithms are well known to cut corners, since they do not explicitly take into account the actual curvature of the path. In this paper we present a novel algorithm that uses recorded steering commands to overcome this problem. The algorithm is constructed within the behavioral paradigm common in intelligent robotics, and is divided into three separate behaviors, each responsible for one aspect of the path tracking task. The algorithm is implemented both on a simulator for autonomous forest machines and a physical small-scale robot. The results are compared with the Pure Pursuit and the Follow the Carrot algorithms, and show a significant improvement in performance.

The Next Step in Robot Commissioning: Autonomous Picking and Palletizing

“…The previously described software components were implemented in the Robot Operating System (ROS) 7 framework. An off-the-shelf solver 8 is used to carry out the optimizations for the motion control according to (4).…”

“…The industry standard for autonomous navigation of forklifts is to use pre-defined trajectories which are either manually defined or learned through teaching-by-demonstration from a human operator [7], [8]. Although conceptually simple, predefining trajectories limits pallet handling to occur only at pre-defined poses.…”

Enhanced Algorithms for Estimating Tree Trunk Diameter Using 2D Laser Scanner

“…Moreover, the information is transferred from the machines and used in central systems for managing wood supply of forest industries. The trend is towards even more advanced operation through, for instance, automation of crane functions [3] and autonomous navigation [4][5][6]. Several proposed solutions involve sensors mounted on a forests machine to create local tree maps of the environment in real-time [5,7,8].…”

Development of an Autonomous Forest Machine for Path Tracking

“…The algorithm is described in the following section. More details and test results are found in [6] and [7].…”

“…This is a great advantage compared to methods like Pure-Pursuit [2] and Follow-the-Carrot [1]. An alternative method to compute φ α can be found in [6].…”