Reversing Along a Curved Path by an Autonomous Truck–Semitrailer Combination

In this paper, the stability analysis of the reverse motion along a circular path is presented for the truck–semitrailer combination. The dynamics of the low-speed maneuver are investigated with the single track kinematic model, supplemented with the model of the steering system. The time delay emerging in the control loop is also considered. The actuation is achieved by the steering of the truck, for which a linear feedback controller is designed to ensure the stability of the motion; meanwhile, a geometry-based feedforward steering angle is also used to force the system to the desired path. Linear stability charts are calculated in order to properly tune the control gains of the feedback controller with respect to the curvature of the path.