Trajectory tracking control of a car-trailer system

Abstract

This paper presents the experimental results of the tracking control of a car-trailer system. The proposed scheme involves three steps: 1) generate a path off-line using a path space iterative algorithm; 2) linearize the kinematic model about a trajectory which is constructed using the path; and 3) apply a time-varying linear quadratic regulator to track the trajectory. Experiments presented include parallel parking a car, docking a tractor-trailer vehicle, and parallel parking a double tractor-trailer vehicle.