Minimum Swept-Path Control for Autonomous Reversing of a Tractor Semi-Trailer

This paper presents a new approach for autonomous reversing of a tractor-semitrailer vehicle called minimum swept path control (MSPC). MSPC improves the performance of previous path following control (PFC) strategies, by minimizing the maximum excursion of the vehicle, while guaranteeing acceptable path following accuracy. A linear controller is devised, combining state feedback control with an optimized preview distance. A relationship between the maximum lateral offsets of the front axle of the tractor unit and the rear axle of the last trailer and the corresponding weights in the control cost function is established, and the controller is tuned to provide the best performance compromise. Several simulations of a tractor-semitrailer case are run, and the results show that the overall swept path width is reduced by more than 40% when compared with PFC methods.