Citation

Gutiérrez R, López-Guillén E, Bergasa LM, Barea R, Pérez, Gómez-Huélamo C, Arango F, Del Egido J, López-Fernández J. Sensors (Basel) 2020; 20(14): e4062.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/s20144062

PMID

32708346

Abstract

Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) require robust and scalable control systems in order to achieve a safe, efficient and comfortable driving experience. Most global planners for autonomous vehicles provide as output a sequence of waypoints to be followed. This paper proposes a modular and scalable waypoint tracking controller for Robot Operating System (ROS)-based autonomous guided vehicles. The proposed controller performs a smooth interpolation of the waypoints and uses optimal control techniques to ensure robust trajectory tracking even at high speeds in urban environments (up to 50 km/h). The delays in the localization system and actuators are compensated in the control loop to stabilize the system. Forward velocity is adapted to path characteristics using a velocity profiler. The controller has been implemented as an ROS package providing scalability and exportability to the system in order to be used with a wide variety of simulators and real vehicles. We show the results of this controller using the novel and hyper realistic CARLA Simulator and carrying out a comparison with other standard and state-of-art trajectory tracking controllers.

Language: en

Keywords

autonomous road vehicles; path tracking control; Robot Operating System (ROS)