Path Planning for Autonomous Articulated Vehicle Based on Improved Goal-Directed Rapid-Exploring Random Tree

Abstract

The special steering characteristics and task complexity of autonomous articulated vehicle (AAV) make it often require multiple forward and backward movements during autonomous driving. In this paper, we present a simple yet effective method, named head correction with fixed wheel position (HC-FWP), for the demand of multiple forward and backward movements. The goal-directed rapid-exploring random tree (GDRRT) algorithm is first used to search for a feasible path in the obstacle map, and then, the farthest node search (FNS) algorithm is applied to obtain a series of key nodes, on which HC-FWP is used to correct AAV heading angles. Simulation experiments with Dynapac CC6200 articulated road roller parameters show that the proposed improved goal-directed rapid-exploring random tree (IGDRRT), consisting of GDRRT, FNS, and HC-FWP, can search a feasible path on maps that require the AAV to move back and forth.