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Lining-Up Control Strategies for N-trailer Vehicles

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Abstract

Maneuvers performed with tractor-trailers vehicles (N-trailers) belong to the most demanding motion control tasks in the transportation practice. Very frequent maneuvers concern the lining-up process of a vehicle chain, usually as a preliminary stage which prepares the system to subsequent parking/docking maneuvers. The most common lining-up control approach results from utilization of the open-loop asymptotic stability of N-trailer joint-angle dynamics in the forward motion. However, in case of long trailers this approach appears very inefficient especially if the available motion space is substantially limited. By using the triangular forms of joint-angle dynamics the problem of lining-up control for N-trailers is analyzed in the paper by considering two alternative strategies: active lining-up (feedback control) and passive lining-up (open-loop control). The two strategies are compared in the context of their practical effectiveness, and how the effectiveness depends on kinematic parameters of the trailers and their interconnections. It is revealed why the active strategy can be much more efficient in most practical cases. Theoretical considerations are validated by results of numerical simulations and experiments conducted with a laboratory-scale three-trailer robotic vehicle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Control and Systems Engineering, Poznan University of Technology (PUT), Piotrowo 3A, 60-965, Poznan, Poland

    Maciej Marcin Michałek

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  1. Maciej Marcin Michałek
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Correspondence to Maciej Marcin Michałek.

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This work was supported by the statutory grant No. 93/194/13 DS-MK.

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Michałek, M.M. Lining-Up Control Strategies for N-trailer Vehicles. J Intell Robot Syst 75, 29–52 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-013-9846-2

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