Optimization-Based On-Road Path Planning for Articulated Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper introduces an optimization-based path planning algorithm for articulated vehicles, specifically tractor-trailers, to improve on-road maneuvering by minimizing off-track areas and avoiding obstacles.

Contribution

It models tractor-trailers in a road-aligned frame and proposes multiple optimization objectives for safe, efficient path planning in complex on-road scenarios.

Findings

The algorithm effectively reduces off-track areas in simulations.

It successfully navigates complex scenarios with challenging tractor-trailer dimensions.

The approach enhances safety and precision in articulated vehicle maneuvering.

Abstract

Maneuvering an articulated vehicle on narrow road stretches is often a challenging task for a human driver. Unless the vehicle is accurately steered, parts of the vehicle's bodies may exceed its assigned drive lane, resulting in an increased risk of collision with surrounding traffic. In this work, an optimization-based path-planning algorithm is proposed targeting on-road driving scenarios for articulated vehicles composed of a tractor and a trailer. To this end, we model the tractor-trailer vehicle in a road-aligned coordinate frame suited for on-road planning. Based on driving heuristics, a set of different optimization objectives is proposed, with the overall goal of designing a path planner that computes paths which minimize the off-track of the vehicle bodies swept area, while remaining on the road and avoiding collision with obstacles. The proposed optimization-based path-planning algorithm, together with the different optimization objectives, is evaluated and analyzed in simulations on a set of complicated and practically relevant on-road planning scenarios using the most challenging tractor-trailer dimensions.