Model predictive driving for tractor-trailer system with omni-directional tractor

Abstract

Many researchers studied path planning and trajectory tracking of the tractor-trailer system. Most studies used a differential drive vehicle for a tractor. However, differential drive vehicles are stuck in some cases due to restrictions on their travel directions. In this paper, we solved that problem with the use of an omni-directional tractor, a kind of mobile robot being able to move every direction. As a trailer, a differential drive vehicle is used, which has no actuator. We control the tractor-trailer system by model predictive control based on its kinematic model and consider both path following and obstacle avoidance. Simulation results show its performance of the proposed tractor-trailer system.