Forward and backward motions path following controls of a truck-trailer with references on the head-truck and on the trailer.

This paper presents new control designs and implementations of truck-trailer path following in forward and backward motions. The path following controls are designed in two modes, which are the controls with reference on the head-truck (RH-control) and with reference on the trailer (RT-control). Both modes aim to converge the distance and orientation errors of the head-truck as well as the trailer with respect to the desired path to zero. Using the designed controls, the asymptotic stabilities of the equilibrium points (i.e., error points equal to zeros) are analyzed using the Lyapunov method. The performances of RH-and RT-controls in controlling the truck-trailer are compared for forward and backward motions. The simulation results show that the RT-controls perform better than the RH-controls and the RT-controls can be applied for a curve-path following in both forward and backward directions. The experimental results of a prototype truck-trailer show the effectiveness of the proposed controls.