Real time trajectory generation for vehicle position control

The object of this work is the definition of a general algorithm for the automatic generation of path aimed at control in real-time the motion of a wheeled vehicle, in order to reach a defined position target. The algorithm, initially conceived for the automatic control of a wheeled articulated robot for geophysical survey, was subsequently extended and generalized, so yielding a tool that may be effectively used for the real-time path planning of vehicles with different kinematic structure and way of steering. The real-time generation of the trajectory provided by this algorithm can lead to the realization of a very robust automatic drive control, able to compensate disturbance-induced errors during the trajectory performance, as well as to adapt itself to a sudden change of the target. The paper shows in detail the logic used by the algorithm to generate the trajectory and describes some significant examples.