Cascaded VFO Set-Point Control for N-Trailers With On-Axle Hitching

Set-point control task for N-trailers corresponds to the practical problem of parking/docking maneuvers performed by a vehicle comprised of an active tractor and N passively interconnected trailers. So far, solutions to the automated parking problem for N-trailers have been formulated mostly using highly nonlinear local transformations of vehicle kinematics into the chained form. Inherent limitations of this approach motivated the authors to propose an alternative cascaded control solution with the Vector-Field-Orientation controller used in the outer loop. The new control law proposed in this brief does not involve any auxiliary model transformation and is highly scalable. The concept has been verified by simulations and results of experimental trials conducted with a three-trailer vehicle.