Motion Primitives Planning For Center-Articulated Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel motion planning approach for center-articulated vehicles using motion primitives within a receding horizon framework, improving navigation efficiency in unstructured terrains with real-world validation.

Contribution

It introduces a new planning method that generates and evaluates motion primitives tailored for center-articulated vehicles, incorporating a pose-stabilizing controller for better disturbance handling.

Findings

67% improvement in SPL performance over existing methods

Successful real-world validation with a tree harvester vehicle

Effective navigation in complex, unstructured terrains

Abstract

Autonomous navigation across unstructured terrains, including forests and construction areas, faces unique challenges due to intricate obstacles and the element of the unknown. Lacking pre-existing maps, these scenarios necessitate a motion planning approach that combines agility with efficiency. Critically, it must also incorporate the robot's kinematic constraints to navigate more effectively through complex environments. This work introduces a novel planning method for center-articulated vehicles (CAV), leveraging motion primitives within a receding horizon planning framework using onboard sensing. The approach commences with the offline creation of motion primitives, generated through forward simulations that reflect the distinct kinematic model of center-articulated vehicles. These primitives undergo evaluation through a heuristic-based scoring function, facilitating the selection of the most suitable path for real-time navigation. To account for disturbances, we develop a pose-stabilizing controller, tailored to the kinematic specifications of center-articulated vehicles. During experiments, our method demonstrates a $67\%$ improvement in SPL (Success Rate weighted by Path Length) performance over existing strategies. Furthermore, its efficacy was validated through real-world experiments conducted with a tree harvester vehicle - SAHA.