Following performance evaluation of a mechanically coupled platoon

Coupling some trucks with the same destination is called a truck platoon system. The leading truck is driven manually and the following trucks are driven automatically by using sensors on the mechanical link. Mechanical links not only restrict the movability of the following trucks, but are also used for sensors. We evaluate the manipulability and the following performance on the linked platoon system. The relation between the measure of manipulability and the following performance is also explained. Finally, the optimized link formation is proposed in this paper