An adaptive tracking controller for backward driving of a two-vehicle convoy

This paper presents an adaptive tracking controller for a two-vehicle convoy where the lead vehicle is driven in reverse. We assume that the lead vehicle linear and angular velocities are unknown constant parameters. We discuss autonomous vehicle control without any information obtained from road infrastructure or communicated from the lead vehicle. The only information the robot vehicle can use for feedback control is the relative position and orientation with respect to the lead vehicle obtained from onboard sensing. The control velocities of the ego-vehicle are computed using the leader velocity estimates obtained from the dynamic part of the proposed controller. For constant velocity maneuvers of the leader, at steady state, the two-vehicle convoy will travel concentric arcs of same radii with prescribed inter-vehicle spacing. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller