Coupled Lateral and Lane Separation Control for 2-D Vehicle Groups

This paper describes control methodologies for a group of coordinated ground vehicles in which a single lead vehicle is assumed to be autonomous and the rest followers in a two-dimensional formation. The lead vehicle can be in any position of the group. Speed (throttle) and steering controllers are deployed in the follower vehicles which utilize only two parameters for position sensing. A minimum (safe) separation distance for vehicles following in lane (lane separation) and for those traveling abreast (lateral separation). Several sample missions, including lane following, square formations in right turns and lap runs are used to determine the performance of the controller for a four vehicle group. The variations in both lane and lateral separations during the mission are monitored as the primary measure of the controller performance.